Compelled to Play Again
by Hotpoint
Summary: First Story in the Compelled series: The Shaper of Things decides to replay the game from an earlier level... - AU Series - COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

_This Fic can also be found at the Twisting the Hellmouth fanfic site (if you prefer the format there, I personally do), there's a link on my profile page._

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE**

**Shadow Valley Vineyards – April 2003**

The fighting stopped as swiftly and abruptly as it began, one second it was steel clashing on steel and then inexplicably the Bringers simply backed away into the shadows of the vineyard cellar leaving Buffy, Spike and their small cohort of Potentials suddenly unmolested.

A figure stepped from the shadows into the light. He was dressed in black as a clergyman, collar and everything, and seemed to have a spark of faith in his eyes as well as a somewhat superior and knowing expression. 'Well, now, you girls are just burning with righteousness, aren't you?' he said addressing Buffy and the potentials. 'Problem is you think you're blazing like suns, when really you're burning like matchsticks in the face of the darkness. You having fun?' he asked sardonically. 'Now, I hope my boys haven't worn you out too much - I need you fit for when I purify you.'

Buffy had heard far too many threats, veiled and otherwise, from wannabe big-bads to take this one any more seriously than all the previous Bond-Villain like speeches directed her way. The evil preacher thing was an interesting variation but not really _that_ imaginative when you came right down to it. 'Save the sermon, padre. I heard you have something of mine' the Slayer responded to Caleb's words in a tone that clearly got the message across that she didn't take him too seriously. When would these jerks learn she wondered? She was the _Slayer_ for pity's sake, she'd beaten an actual _God_ into submission, a mere man _of_ God just wasn't in her league, heck as the great Sam L Jackson would say he wasn't even playing the same damn sport.

Caleb chuckled at the vampire slayers bravado, she was a feisty one all right. 'Well, I do now. You liked my little message, did you? You know, I ruined a perfectly good knife on that girl. Got her soiled blood all over the place. I may have to get a new truck' he said in mock regret. 'So, you're the slayer. The slayer. The strongest, the fastest, the most aflame with that most precious invention of all mankind - the notion of goodness. The slayer must indeed be powerful' he said.

The man of the cloth threw a lightning punch that connected with the slayer with a force that sent her hurtling through the air to land in a heap. It was a blow the likes of which she had not felt since Glory, stunning, awesome, titanic power.

'So what else you got?' Caleb asked smugly, looking around at the shocked expressions on the faces of the potentials and even the turncoat vampire Spike who himself looked like he was about to spring to the attack putting his vampire game-face on ready to pounce in a split second.

Instead of the ensouled vampire making his move another figure, this one female, intervened stepping between them and looking Caleb up and down with distain. A double pace behind her a serious looking man who had entered at the same time regarded him with an expression that was rather more guarded.

'So who would you be darling?' Caleb asked the newcomer, eyes twinking. 'You look kinda old to be a potential I'm thinking' he said. 'Another of the slayers sidekicks come to give her a hand?' he asked looking her over. From the length of her skirt she was surely another dirty temptress anyhow, just prime for the righteous judgement.

'I am sidekick to no one' the woman told him. 'They,' she said nodding her head to the side to indicate the still prostrate Buffy, 'as you' she continued, 'are nothing more than the slime beneath my feet' she declared.

The dark padre laughed. 'Well ain't you a peach' he said and viciously backhanded the woman with almost as much force as he had just used to knock down the slayer.

Caleb's jaw dropped at the result of the blow but the woman herself certainly didn't. In fact from his perspective, and more precisely judging from the pain in his hand, it felt pretty much like he'd just tried to bitchslap a ten ton granite block rather than a slightly built woman in her twenties. Her head did rock to the side with what should have been the bone shattering impact of the blow, but she was soon looking him straight in the eyes once again, seemingly unfazed by a level of force that would have killed anything short of a slayer or a strong vampire outright.

The woman's right arm suddenly snapped forwards to grab Caleb by the throat, simultaneously her clothes, indeed her whole appearance changed as they morphed into what looked like a suit of red leather armour. Her hair and even areas of her skin took on shades of blue, the colour matched by her almost glowing eyes. She leaned her head to the side as if seeking to look him over once again from a slightly different perspective.

With no apparent effort the demon woman lifted Caleb clean off his feet with the one hand, squeezing hard and almost choking the life out of him. His expression now one of near panic he pulled a vicious looking hunting knife from his pocket and slammed it as hard as he could into the arm that was holding him aloft.

The blade shattered leaving behind a small wound that began slowly dripping blood as the shards of steel fell to the floor in a shower of shiny fragments as a shocked Caleb released the hilt of the broken knife to let it fall too.

She eyed the minor injury dispassionately.

'Qwa'Ha Xahn' she said, turning her head to address the figure stood behind her 'this one has some strength and the temerity to cause me harm, albeit insignificant harm of little consequence' she told him. 'I will play with it a while outside before making a trophy of its spine' she declared then looked around in distaste.'The walls in here grow close' she commented in a far less imperious tone, almost one of nervousness.

'Who? What?' Caleb gasped, looking down at the creature holding him aloft so effortlessly.

_Another_ Buffy flashed into view alongside Caleb and cast a clearly disquieted look over the scene.

'It's the First' the original Buffy declared, rising to her feet and equally shocked by the sudden turn the battle had taken.

Ignoring Buffy entirely, the eponymous First Evil stared in apparent astonishment at the slightly built blue haired female, who herself turned her head towards it and regarded the incorporeal being with what was clearly a form of mild amusement before turning back to Caleb with a superior smirk growing across her face.

'I am Illyria, God-King of the Primordium, Shaper of Things' she told Caleb haughtily. 'This timeline continues to develop far more to my liking' she continued off-handedly to herself.

A voice from near the entrance to the cellar spoke up 'You know you _did_ ask "what else you got"' Faith the vampire slayer pointed out reasonably to Caleb, from the position she'd taken sitting at the bottom of the steps. She had followed the other pair down into the cellar earlier telling a puzzled Xander to stay put outside with the other potentials. Faith had remained at a distance to observe the unfolding scene wishing she'd remembered to bring some popcorn along. 'You _were_ kinda tempting fate don't you think?' she asked Caleb rhetorically.

Standing behind Illyria, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce nodded in agreement with his former charge. 'You see what we had as a backup was a Deus ex Machina of the most literal kind' he told Caleb with a ironic chuckle before, wiping his face clear from even a hint of expression, he reached both hands inside his brown leather jacket and smoothly pulled a pair of automatic pistols from the shoulder holsters concealed underneath.

With a practiced eye and sure hands Wesley raised and aimed the twin handguns then without verbal warning, nor even a suggestion of a change in demeanour, he began pulling both triggers repeatedly. The rogue demon-hunter systematically and ruthlessly gunning down the Bringers who, initiative never really being their strong suit, had up until now remained partially cloaked in the shadows unsure what to do without guidance from above, or more accurately perhaps from beneath.

The sound of Wesley's dual pistols was quite deafening in the enclosed space, each booming gunshot report echoing into the next, but it didn't take too long before his near perfect aim bought the First's foot-soldiers to a swift and bloody demise and the thunder ceased. One Bringer managed to get in reasonably close in a last ditch attempt to save Caleb by flinging itself and its sword into action but it was grabbed mid way by Spike who simply used its momentum against itself, turning it slamming head first into the wall taking the hapless creature out of the game in a snap, or rather a snapped neck.

Meanwhile the perplexed potentials who had been standing around watching, Rona and Molly flinching considerably at the gunshots, were now also wondering why the hell _they_ didn't carry guns too if it was quite that easy. Pulling a trigger had to be easier than swinging a damn axe right? The unfolding events more generally were just too unexpected for them to really get to grips with them properly, they were newcomers to the hellmouth and were yet to learn to roll with the random acts of supernatural weirdness. First the mythically all-powerful slayer had been sent sprawling by a single blow and then a blue, skinny self-declared "God-King" woman had wholly swung the course of battle back the other way. Even the invariably self-assured Kennedy was rendered speechless by the situation and feeling entirely out of her depth she cast an eye on Buffy for guidance but found her looking none the wiser, albeit tensed and ready for action if necessary.

Only Faith seemed to be remotely in tune with events and gave Kennedy a cheesy, exaggerated thumbs-up when, turning her gaze from Buffy, the potential had looked to the other slayer for direction instead.

Ignoring the combats, confusions and contemplations of lesser beings Illyria lowered Caleb, and in a single crisp action spun him around, put him in a headlock, and began dragging him backwards towards the stone steps leading outside, the fallen clergyman kicking and screaming in distress. Faith stood up and moved aside to allow them to pass.

En-route to the exit, and to Spikes surprise, the skinny bint with the serious strength who had been ignoring everyone else gently nodded to him in acknowledgement of his presence. 'Half-Breed' she addressed him in a not completely condescending tone, which for her meant friendly, being inwardly pleased at her pets swift and effective dispatch of the enemy warrior.

Spike blinked. 'Umm… Hi Blue' he responded, not actually having so much as a clue as to who she, or _it_, actually was. Normally as a rule he'd be hitting something that looked like that, or else being hit by it, getting what seemed to be a familiar greeting instead was a whole new experience.

Wesley holstered his pistols and put on his best authoritative watcher's voice. 'If the potentials would like to follow us outside they might find the display instructive' he said spinning on his heels to follow Illyria and the struggling Caleb up the steps, striding commandingly, hands now linked behind his back like a soldier at parade rest.

Spike and the potentials all looked to Buffy for a cue who shrugged her shoulders and with a look of utter bewilderment written large across her face started to pursue Wesley, if that really _was_ Wesley because he sure looked and acted different, towards the way out. Maybe he was going to change colour as well she wondered, all that stubble turning blue would look pretty bizarre a little voice in the back of her mind observed.

The others followed her lead and trotted along behind the boss like good little troops.

Waiting for Buffy by the foot of the steps as Caleb was dragged past her, and leaning oh so casually against the wall just out of the reach of his flailing arms, Faith was still grinning ear to ear. She had definitely known something in advance that she hadn't let on to anyone else Buffy decided, narrowing her eyes at the other slayer and made a mental note to have words with Faith regarding need-to-know information. The so-called Dark Slayer winked at the real Buffy before directing her attention elsewhere and condescendingly gave the First Evil the finger as he continued to stand there as a nonplussed Buffy doppelganger.

If Caleb had been looking for some assistance from that very same First Evil he was badly let down by its response, as ignored by all but Faith, who was still directing obscene gestures at it, it stood exactly where it had been watching the Old One continue to haul the First's increasingly loud, obscene and desperate "good right arm" into the open air so the ancient God-King could pulverise him in a more salubrious environment outside under the stars.

The First grimaced. 'Okay now this just _sucks_' it said in a pitch-perfect rendition of Buffy's most piqued and flustered tones.


	2. Chapter 2

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO**

**Shadow Valley Vineyards – April 2003**

Amanda turned to Kennedy who was stood next to her watching with considerable interest. The slightly older potential had actually been in training under a Council Watcher _before_ the First decided to make war on the whole slayer line and usually seemed to be better informed as to what was happening than the real newbies like her. 'I know I'm kinda new to this' she began. 'But as a rule if a demon is beating the crap out of a priest isn't it our job to like… stop them?'

'Well yeah' Kennedy replied 'sacred duty and all that' she agreed, 'but given that's the son-of-a-bitch that's been working for the First, and stabbed that new girl Shannon, we're making a _big_ exception.

Molly interrupted, raising a hand. 'Downstairs he took out Buffy with one punch' she told Amanda. 'I mean like the actual _slayer_ in _one_ punch. I guess no matter how tough you are there's someone tougher' she said. 'Well except for maybe in _her_ case' she observed, turning her hand to point wth an outstetched finger.

Amanda turned back and watched the blue haired demon woman pick Caleb up off the ground again, and with what looked like surprisingly little effort given the differentials in their size and build, swing him around and release him, throwing him a good twelve feet to crash hard into a tree trunk. He bounced off the trunk with both a loud thump and cry of pain then landed in a heap beside it, moaning.

As the potentials continued to watch, she strode over to him, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck with her left hand and lifted him to his knees. She held him there, his arms hanging limply to his sides barely conscious, and with her free right hand she started punching him repeatedly in the face.

Amanda watched thoughtfully and decided that she should intervene in some manner. 'Go on girl. Kick his ass' she called out loudly, breaking into a grin.

Kennedy threw Amanda a look then laughed. 'Work the body some more' she called out.

'Knock his bloody teeth out' Molly shouted, getting into the spirit of the thing.

'Go Blue, Go Blue, Go Blue' Rona began chanting as the demon woman once again picked up Caleb before sending him hurtling away with an right cross that hit like a Mack Truck.

The God-King turned to look at the potentials and somewhat to their surprise addressed them. 'I like hitting this one' she declared, 'he makes noise' she explained before walking over to kick Caleb again. He was now laying on his side gasping for breath and bleeding from several wounds and the new blow, hard to the gut, sent him flying with the impact.

Xander watched the potentials who were stood in a group off to one side all now chanting along with Rona and turned to Buffy. 'So… cheerleader uniforms you think?' he asked.

The slayer looked at her friend. 'Does _every_ thought you have lead back to that?' she asked in mock disapproval.

'I'm comfortable in my fetishes, better cheerleader uniforms than handcuffs and whips' Xander joked then turned the other direction to look at the scruffy ex-watcher stood nearby. 'Wesley, you gots some 'splaining to do' he said in his best Ricki Ricardo impression, he hoped that the Brit knew who Ricki Ricardo actually was because Xander hated to waste good material on the pop-culturally illiterate.

Wesley shrugged. 'Long story short, Illyria there just appeared one day, out of the blue you might say' he said hoping to get a laugh but failing. He masked his disappointment that nobody thought the line was funny and quickly continued. 'Faith knows that part of it better than I do I wasn't there at the time she appeared. Anyhow she said she wanted to help us. She knew who we all were, in fact she knows a great deal, far more I think than she's letting on which I earnestly hope is for the sake of the timeline rather than some malevolent intent.'

'The timeline?' Spike repeated from the position he'd taken nearby ready to leap to Buffy's defence if the Blue Meanie over yonder got bored hitting Caleb and decided to try her knuckles out on someone else.

Spike heard someone approach and span to face them as a newcomers voice interrupted the group from behind. 'Yes she's from the future so she says, and she's backed the claim up with some very precise predictions' the newcomer declared, 'your meeting with Caleb there for example. It would be more accurate to say one of infinite possible futures though, certainly not _our_ future, because her arrival is already changing it. She came from another timeline where she _didn't_ originally come back in time, to make all the changes she's making now in _our_ timeline.'

Buffy and Xander had spun around and both made sounds of incredulity when they got a good look at the speaker. Xander afterwards made sure to tell everyone that his own shocked cry was deep and manly however.

'Are y'all getting this?' the slim woman with the Texan accent asked, looking at them hopefully. 'Sorry I'm late, I lost track of time waiting in the car' she told Wesley who smiled at her.

Buffy span back to Wesley 'There's two of them? You didn't say there were _two_ of them' she said stridently. 'Have you got any more of them hanging around?' he asked. 'Do they turn Blue at will?'

'Two of…' the Texan woman repeated, 'oh no silly I'm not another Illyria I'm Fred we just look the same' she told them. 'I'm only human, my only super-power is that I'm darn good with math, which I suppose isn't _really_ a super-power in the classic sense, but then again when you think about it people who were good with math and physics like me designed the atomic bomb which is a lot more powerful than most of the guys in Gunn's comic books… and I'm just yammering on again, it's a habit, ignore me' she said.

'Fred's _other_ super-power is the ability to say two thousand consecutive words without needing to take a breath' Wesley joked. 'Yes she's quite as human as she is lovely' he assured everyone.

Xander looked from Fred to Illyria who was still pummelling Caleb nearby. 'Evil twin?' he asked. 'Maybe a demon split you in half?' he suggested.

Wesley looked at Xander askance.

'Hey I can theorise can't I?' Xander asked the ex-watcher. 'It's not like that sort of thing doesn't happen to perfectly ordinary people all the time' he declared defensively.

Fred shook her head smiling. 'Oh no nothing like that' she replied. 'Illyria just possessed me and destroyed my soul' she explained in bewilderingly upbeat tones considering the ramifications of what she'd just said.

'She did _what_?' Buffy exclaimed aghast.

The physicist frowned maybe she wasn't explaining too well? Temporal paradoxes, alternate realities and the like were better understood as mathematics, ordinary grammar and syntax coped with it very badly. 'Well not _me_ exactly' she responded, 'the _other_ me from the alternate timeline in a few months from now.'

'That thing _killed_ you, the other you, the other alternate you I mean' Buffy said not liking where this conversation was going at all. It was like demonology meets Star-Trek technobabble.

'Not deliberately or with malice as far as we know' Wesley told her. 'Fred's body, Illyria calls it a "shell" incidentally, was chosen by one of her followers as the vessel for its rebirth. Fred was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.'

'Time being the operative word' Fred pointed out. 'Fortunately it wasn't in this timeline because I like having my own body with its soul exactly where it's supposed to be' she said then looked thoughtful. 'Strangely enough by coming here Illyria has actually saved my life… in a really convoluted way anyhow' she said.

Fred looked around trying to put names to faces. Fortunately Wesley had with cajoling finally provided a chart which helped her identify the Sunnydale crew and their relationships, Fred had studied it on the way here. 'Oh you must be Spike' she said turning to the blond in the black leather duster. 'Angel says to tell you he's flattered you decided to get yourself a soul to be just like him but you've really got to grow up and get from under his shadow' she said. 'He thinks you've got serious Sire issues and suggests you see a therapist.' she added, 'I think he was joking about that but I'm not sure' she noted thoughtfully.

The vampire choked then snarled. 'Tell that prissy bastard than my getting a soul has about as much to do with him as… as' Spike couldn't think of anything. 'Well it's got bugger-all to do with him full stop.' He paused for a beat. 'How does the big poof know I've got a soul?'

Fred crossed her arms. 'Illyria told us. From the future remember, knows lots of things' she pointed out.

Something suddenly occurred to Spike 'Now hang on a sodding second' he said turning to Faith. 'Did you know I had a soul before you came here with Willow?'

'Yup' she replied starting to laugh.

'You bloody well tried to kill me in the graveyard when I was chasing that vampire bint' Spike protested.

Faith gave him a beatific smile. 'I had to play the part, the First might have been watching, couldn't give the game away that I had the heads up on a few things I shouldn't have' she replied.

'You didn't have to hit me so bloody hard though did you?' Spike complained. 'Do you have any idea how much it hurts having a slayer wailing on you?' he asked before pausing, looking to Buffy and then back to Faith. 'Yeah well I suppose you do' he said, 'but that just makes it worse you sadistic git.'

Faith's smile became rather more evil. 'Method acting. I had to think what my motivation was and immerse myself in the role, and hey already a vampire slayer so it was easy' she claimed. 'Coming up with the "Are you the Bad Slayer now? Am I the Good Slayer now?" line to Buffy took a lot more effort.'

'So you're trying to say she's friendly?' Xander asked in an attempt to get things back on track indicating Illyria with a nod in her direction.

Fred grimaced. 'Oh God no, she's downright _obnoxious_' she replied forcefully, 'she's just not _hostile_' she declared then paused for a second to think 'Well I suppose to be honest she _is_ hostile' Fred went on, 'but not to us, at least not in the physical sense. 'She'll almost certainly hurt your feelings if only because she has a monumental superiority complex, wait for the muck speech it's a doozy, and she was like a total pain in the ass on the drive here from LA.'

Wesley shuddered in recollection. 'All the way here it was "Are we there yet, these vehicles are too slow, why can't _I_ sit in the front of the car, when I had all my powers I could have teleported there in an instant, I want to stop and get a taco" it drove me _insane_' Wesley said through gritted teeth.

Xander inwardly chuckled at Wesley's rant then threw him a quizzical look 'Tacos?'

'My fault sorta' Fred told him. 'At least Illyria blames me and it does make sense in a way. I love 'em you see, favourite food in the world, and a lot of my memories and other things like, emotions, attitudes to people, and of course the cravings for Mexican Food, remained in the shell when she took over, at least that's what she says and we've tested her memories with things only I would know so we think she's being straight about it.'

Buffy took a deep breath 'Okay. Living on the hellmouth for a few years has left me pretty much go-with-the-flow girl when it comes to this kind of thing, but why did you bring her here?' she asked. 'Also what _exactly_ is she?'

'As to the why, she says her original timeline went badly so she decided to start again from an earlier point.' Wesley replied. 'She won't say how she managed to do that however.'

Spike rubbed the bridge of his nose. 'How "badly" are we talking about?' he asked.

Wesley sighed. 'Well from my standpoint very badly, as apparently I died' he replied. 'And I wasn't the only one apparently. As to your other question Buffy regarding _what _she is… well I can't naturally confirm it one-hundred percent, but when she says she's a god I think she's being straight about it. She's an actual Demon God.'

'So you're saying she's a bloody HellGod? A friendly one? The bleeding Anti-Glory or something?' Spike retorted in disbelief.

Less instantly dismissive herself Buffy turned to look Illyria over again. 'So she's like a _good_ HellGod?' she suggested. 'A HellGod with a soul?'

Spike snorted. 'Who's going to buy that load of cobblers?' the vampire asked rhetorically. 'HellGod with a soul my arse' he said dismissively. 'If you meet anyone who'd buy a likely story like that…' he paused as everyone looked at him. 'What?' he asked the group in confusion before they turned away from him again.

Faith was still intently watching Illyria bounce Caleb around never having been all that interested in the discussion group thing and having already heard most of the story before but now she decided to speak up. 'Super-Smurf saved my ass from Angelus so if you want my two cents she's worth keeping around' she opined. 'Don't know if I trust her but I reckon it's better to have her inside pissing out than risk her being outside pissing in' she said.

'Angelus?' Buffy said looking at Wesley. 'Willow said you did a trick with some magic morphine stuff?' she queried.

'That was the _original_ plan so we kept it as a cover story' Wesley told her. 'The First might have been listening in on your conversation.'

'Super-Smurf?' Xander commented appreciatively, grinning at Faith.

Faith smiled back. 'His nickname idea not mine' she replied, indicating Wesley. 'Junior Watcher here is as much a reformed character as I am' she said, 'going in kinda the other direction though' she continued. 'He's pretty much the archetypical sarcastic, ruthless badass now ain't you Wes?'

'If you say so Faith' Wesley replied sardonically. 'Of course it could be argued that my conversion was in no small part down to you, a born-again baptismal in my own blood as it were.'

Faith flinched. 'You're just not going to let that little torturing you thing drop are you?'

'Not this lifetime slayer' Wesley replied earnestly. 'But I'm beyond thoughts of retaliation if that's what's concerning you.'

It wasn't but Faith didn't say so.

Illyria had finally grown tired of the game and with everyone watching she picked the broken body of Caleb off the ground for a final time. Standing upright her left hand had him by the throat holding him just off the ground his broken body hanging loose from her iron grip. She carried him in that manner over to where her guide was talking with the blond vampire slayer.

'Well I suppose a good HellGod is better than having an evil one hanging around' Buffy told Illyria. 'Nice to have you onboard' she said.

'Your words, your opinions, your meaningless struggles against the flows of chaos that drive the universes mean nothing to me' Illyria replied coldly. 'I am here for my own reasons, and my mission and yours just happen to synchronise at this point in time. Do not think of me as a long-term ally we merely share enemies for the near future' she told her.

The slayer was slightly taken aback but maintained her composure. 'Your enemies' enemy is your friend they say' Buffy responded.

'They must be weak minded fools then' Illyria retorted. 'As for your simplistic conceptualisations of good and evil I am beyond such trivial labels' she declared haughtily.

Wesley coughed causing the God-King to look over at his disapproving expression. She growled gently and then turned her full attention to Buffy once again. 'You are the leader here however, and though you are not _my_ leader my Qwa'Ha Xahn thinks I should attempt to deal with you with civility and the respect due your position' Illyria paused. 'You are extremely fortunate I value his opinion beyond all others' she said. 'Here then an offering to symbolise a community of purpose between us' the God-King declared loudly for all to hear. 'I offer up my trophy to you' she said then with her free right hand held flat to be used as a blade she slammed it into Calebs back, right through his shirt.

'What the hell are you…' Buffy began before Illyria suddenly snapped her hand upwards, using it like a cleaver and ripping Calebs back open in a spray of blood. She reached into the gaping wound, grabbed hold of something and with a savage jerk pulled most of his spine clean out of his body.

The Shaper of Things released her left hand's grip on Calebs throat and he fell to the floor in a bloody mess, leaving his spinal column still held in her right. Needless to say he was mercifully quite dead by this point not that it had been an entirely painless exit from this mortal coil by any means.

Fred gasped and turned away in horror. Two of the potentials fainted while Kennedy being of a sterner disposition merely turned and threw up.

'I offer you your enemies spine as a trophy' Illyria said, smiling and holding her prize out to Buffy in what she thought was a friendly gesture of mutual respect that would be well received by one that was so famed for fighting demons.

Xander had seen some things in his time with the Scoobies, things most people couldn't imagine in their worst nightmares but he had gone very pale. 'Are we _certain_ she's not evil' he asked in shocked tones.

'I tend to think of Illyria as morally ambiguous' Wesley commented off-handedly, taking a handkerchief from his pocket to offer to Buffy who was still standing there speechless with drops of blood splattered all over her face.

Collecting herself the slayer looked at the offered spine and eventually held up her hands, palms outwards in rejection. 'Keep it' she said. 'It wouldn't suit the décor in my house' she told her new ally before taking Wesley's offered handkerchief and wiping herself clean as best she could.

'I'll go get a petrol can to torch this place and the bodies' Wesley said heading off to his SUV which he'd parked nearby. 'Oh I suppose I should call it gasoline here in the Colonies, still trying to adjust to the New World' he said in what might be best thought of as gallows humour considering the recent turn of events. Faith was right, he had changed a lot Buffy noted, the old Wes would have fainted along with the potentials, now he was clearly hard-core.

Lots to get adjusted to Buffy thought, looking the Blue God-Demon over for the umpteenth time. A whole new world indeed she realised.


	3. Chapter 3

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE**

**Los Angeles – March 2003**

The vampire easily dodged the tranquiliser dart and was back on the offensive instantly, a savage kick driving Faith backwards through the air to crash into some boxes which fortunately help cushion her landing somewhat. The blow in itself had been stunning though, Angelus was no ordinary bloodsucker he was the king of the hill, the worst there was.

Finally going to bag myself a vampire slayer, Angelus realised. I'm going to have to go find Spike and let him know he thought. That peroxide blond jerk had been rubbing it in for years about how good slayer tasted. Hell, why not turn her and bring her along for proof? That would be sweet, an actual _slayer vampire_ as a sidekick he decided, major kudos in the right circles.

Thinking of sidekicks Angelus had to dodge again as that English pansy Wyndam-Pryce racked his shotgun and fired. It wouldn't kill him but even for a vampire a twelve-gauge at this range could really ruin your day and by choice he wouldn't ruin his outfit either. 'You gotta do better than that Wes' Angelus taunted before having to evade another blast from former Watcher. Rogue-Demon-Hunter my ass Angelus thought, under all that stubble and the new threads the old wimp was still in there, maybe deep down but he was still in there.

Angelus grinned. 'Come on I'll give you more more' he taunted. Hey when I turn Faith, he thought, I'll get her to torture him again, now that would be damn poetic he considered, there was real symmetry there.

Wesley pulled back the slide on his shotgun again but before he could properly aim the vampire snapped forward, seized the barrel and easily forced it upwards, the weapon discharging harmlessly into the ceiling above.

'Strike Three' Angelus said yanking the shotgun from Wesley's grasp then hurling him easily over the balcony to smash into the scaffolding before falling hard into the floor below.

'Uh oh, vampire with a Gun' Angelus said, turning to face Faith, racking the shotgun himself. He wasn't usually a firearms enthusiast, preferring to get his hands dirty but you had to admit the thing did look a lot of fun to play with.

To his surprise Faith wasn't running. She was instead standing there looking extremely surprised and with what looked like a hypodermic in her hand. For that matter she wasn't actually looking at Angelus either but past him.

'Half Breed' a voice addressed Angelus from directly behind.

The vampire span but as he did so something wrenched the shotgun from his hand, hard enough to break his index finger which was inside the trigger-guard. He ignored the pain and found himself looking into a strangely familiar but unfamiliar face.

'You will come with me to get your soul replaced' the Demon in the guise of Fred told him then threw the shotgun aside.

Angelus meanwhile threw a punch.

The demon simply caught the oncoming fist in it's hand then forced the whole arm back and down to the vampires side, using overwhelming force against Angelus full strength which he was pressing back with in a clearly futile gesture. The Demon then twisted and locked the arm to hold the vampire in place.

Thinking on his feet as ever, or in this case striking out with them, Angelus kicked the Demon as hard as he could in the shins, it did cause some damage, to be precise he broke two of his toes, but his situation was hardly improved by the effort. With his other hand he then punched it on the nose which rocked its head back but did not achieve much more.

Now _this_ was a totally unforeseen and revolting development Angelus decided, assuming this was the Beasts Master come for some payback for what he did to lava boy. It certainly fitted the bill in terms of the look and the strength, and now he thought about it the fact the Demon was a girl. The "my sweet" line the beastmaster had used in his head too, he thought. It was definitely not a masculine phrasing when you thought about it he realised.

This beastmaster had some appreciation of the game though he thought in grudging respect for his new foe. Putting his soul back was the worst thing anyone could conceivably think of to do to him, death or a few more centuries in a hell dimension was nothing by comparison. 'Why can't you just kill me you fucking sadist' Angelus seethed.

'I will try not to cause you excessive damage' the demon assured him then pulled back its free arm, clenching a fist.

Yup this is going to sting a bit Angelus thought bracing himself for the blow to come.

Faith watched the Demon throw an uppercut which sent Angelus hurtling off the balcony to come crashing down below, incidentally not too far from Wesley who was still laying there unconscious himself.

The blue-haired demon turned to Faith. 'You are not injured. You will attend to Wesley whilst I subdue the Half-Breed Angelus' she instructed the slayer.

The slayer looked back at her. 'Who, and more importantly _what_, the fuck are you lady?' she asked not unreasonably, at least not unreasonably in principle but the tone left much to be desired. It looked like Fred, but unless Wesley had been keeping back some serious need-to-know information that sure as hell _wasn't_ Fred Faith decided.

'I am Illyria. You are Faith the vampire slayer, Wesley's former charge' the demon replied. 'We will take Angel back to the Hotel so the witch Willow can restore his soul' she explained.

Faith watched Illyria jump off the balcony to land next to Angelus who was groggily trying to get to his feet. As the slayer watched, the demon easily knocked the vampire back down. 'You will stop trying to escape or fight back, there is no point' Illyria told him. I will simply injure you until you become docile enough to transport.'

The blue haired demon looked back up to Faith. 'You are malingering' she stated. 'There is more work to do after this. I still have to deal with Jasmine today' she told her in a business-like fashion.

'Should have stayed in prison' Faith said to herself, going to retrieve Wesley's shotgun. 'It's too fucking weird and dangerous out here.'

And who the hell was Jasmine she wondered?

**Summers Residence - Sunnydale - April 2003**

'So she just appeared?' Giles asked, looking from the slayer to Illyria who was stood across from them in Buffy's living room.

'Black swirly thing appears in mid air just in front of me as I'm about to jack myself up with that Orpheus junk' Faith confirmed. 'Blue there steps out and starts pounding on Fang's alter-ego. That was it' she said. 'Wes could back me up only he was mixing it up with Angelus at the time she appeared so they were both a bit distracted.'

'When I came to I found myself looking at Fred wearing red leather, the rest of her dyed blue and with Angelus in an arm lock looking very much the worse for wear' Wesley told Giles from where he was sitting next to Faith. 'In all honesty I was initially quite convinced that the drop had caused serious brain damage and I was hallucinating' he admitted honestly.

Faith nodded. 'She gave us the Readers Digest version of her story during the trip back to the Hotel. We had Angelus tied up and tranquilised in the back, so he wasn't a problem any more, and when we got back she dealt with problem number two' she said.

'Problem number two?' Dawn queried with interest, handing Wesley a cup of tea.

**Hyperion Hotel - Los Angeles – March 2003**

Faith and Wesley carried the tranquilised and bound Angelus between them as they came through the main doors into the Hyperion Lobby.

'Oh hell yeah!' Gunn called out enthusiastically 'You the man English' he continued. 'You too Faith' he added quickly.

Faith grinned at Gunn 'No I'm a girl' she declared, 'and maybe I'd have thought about proving that to you one day but that line pretty much ended your chances of _ever_ having me rock your world Chuck' she told him.

Gunn laughed. 'Well damn, the day _was_ looking pretty good with you two hauling him inside' he replied, 'but now it's already taken a major turn for the worse.'

'You'll never know just how much worse' Faith told him. 'Trust me I got mad skillz' she assured him with a wink. Amazingly Wes let the opportunity to comment on the "mad" thing go, though he _was_ tempted.

'You got him' Lorne said, appearing with a sea breeze and a beaming smile. 'Marshall's Wes and Faith bringing 'em back alive to stand trial' he said enthusiastically. 'We'll have him hog-tied, sentenced and put a soul around his neck come sun-down' he declared.

Connor was watching from the stairs. He smiled with the others, pleased at Faith's success in retrieving the monster Angelus. Maybe good old Dad's obsession with slayers had some reason behind it, he thought. Hot girls who could kick serious demon butt, well you had to see the appeal right? Not that he would ever abandon his beloved Cordelia, he was far too loyal for that.

Fred walked in the front door and waved to Gunn. 'Isn't it great Charles, they got him' she said. 'I'm going to go get my jacket from upstairs then I'm going to take Faith out to get a Taco. She's earned it.'

Gunn smiled back. Fred thought anything worth celebrating should be marked with a Taco, funny thing though, he thought she was out back.

'Oh hey Connor' Fred said running into him, walking up the corridor a couple of minutes later. 'Is Cordy in her room I wanted to go tell her that Wesley and Faith caught Angelus so we're all safe now.'

'I'll tell her' Connor replied. 'I was just going to' he said.

Fred smiled. 'Okay then' she replied then punched his lights out with a right-cross. 'Sweet dreams Connor' she said, stepping over his unconscious form before bending down to stick a tranquiliser dart into his backside through his jeans. The boy would be in a foul and uncooperative mood when he awoke but by then he would also be restrained, much like his erstwhile father.

Cordelia heard the knocking at her door and ignored it as long as she could. 'Could you go away and come back later I'm busy right now' she called out.

'Cordy, it's me Fred' a voice replied. 'I'm not going away until you open the door. There's something I need to show you' she said.

God that girl was annoying Cordelia thought to herself, as she went to open the door to her room. She put on her best smile and opened the door. 'Hey Fred what's up?' she asked.

'Hey Cordy' Fred replied. 'Wesley and Faith just bought Angelus back thought you'd like to know' she told her brightly.

Cordelia resisted the urge to flinch. 'Oh that's marvellous' she said, forcing a smile. I'll get Connor to dust the son-of-a-bitch later she thought to herself.

Fred nodded in agreement. 'Isn't it though' she aagreed. Then dropped her chin to look down at Cordelia's midriff. 'So how's your little higher-power hijacker doing today?' she asked amiably before raising her head again to look Cordelia in the eyes, a smug, _incredibly_ superior expression forming on her face.

Cordelia looked at Fred in mute horror. This could _not_ be good she decided immediately.

Fred's hair and patches of her skin turned blue.

Eyes widening, Cordelia turned white as a sheet in response

Illyria saw a higher-powers plans come crashing down around her ears with great satisfaction.

Meanwhile the higher power saw stars.

Illyria bent down and picked Cordelia up carefully, starting to carry her back downstairs. The witch was due to arrive presently and she could put Angel's soul back in whilst hopefully taking Cordelia's uninvited passenger back out. The seers face was somewhat bruised by the _relatively_ gentle slap the God-King had delivered but she was otherwise unharmed.

The new improved timeline was starting to shape up fast Illyria thought happily to herself, stepping over Connors prone form in the corridor once again.

**Summers Residence - Sunnydale - April 2003**

'I'm surprised you accepted Illyria's story so readily' Buffy commented. 'I mean you've got to admit she doesn't look the typical side-of-truth-and-justice type' she opined.

Fred nodded her agreement with the sentiment. 'Angel had his doubts once Willow put his soul back but we summoned Skip and beat it out of him. Well technically _Illyria_ held him down while Angel beat it out of him, but after that, and with the things she knew about us, and me especially, we became believers pretty darn quick' she said.

'Who's Skip?' Xander asked.

Wesley's lip curled in distaste. 'A demon that used to work for the Powers-That-Be as a guide and enforcer, before deciding that being a mercenary was a better gig' he explained. 'Angel was _not_ happy when he found out Skip had been pretty central to the whole hijacking Cordelia's body plan' he continued. 'He _had_ been thought a friend and ally, one of the good guys.'

Buffy looked at Wes. 'Define "not happy" as regards Angel' she requested, guessing the ensouled Vampire had wrought some major vengeance.

'Skip's currently located in several different locations. We had to use a power saw to arrange that' Fred replied, wincing slightly but not excessively bothered by the event 'He was armoured like a tank, it took ages to cut him up for disposal' she said.

'I probably don't want to hear the answer but was "Skip" alive during this disassembly?' Xander queried.

'Only at first' Faith responded deadpan. She looked around the room at the faces of some of the potentials listening in. 'Word to the wise folks. _Never_ fuck with Angel's crew. He take's it _real_ personally' she warned them seriously.

'So is Cordelia alright now?' Xander asked concerned. They hadn't been an item or even seen each other in years, but he still cared about her, in fact he was surprised right now by how much.

Willow shrugged. 'Her mystical pregnancy is on hold thanks to some wicked mojo from yours truly' she said, 'but I'll need to get back to her soon to finish the job' she told him.

'Angel, Gunn and Lorne are watching over her' Wesley added. 'We've got a binding spell in place plus plenty of drugs keeping her under, but she's stable, in no danger and Jasmine is locked down tight for now.'

'Why do you call it Jasmine?' Dawn wanted to know.

Illyria spoke up. 'That was the name the shell came up with for the creature in the original timeline. We have to call it something so it seemed appropriate. It is extremely powerful and would be very dangerous if it managed to come to term' she said.

'Okay, so powerful and dangerous as compared to what?' Kennedy asked. 'I mean are we talking Turok'Han level bad, Caleb level bad or what?'

Illyria looked at the potential. '_I_ would ideally not wish to have to fight Jasmine, does that answer your question?' she asked rhetorically.

Rona choked on the can of soda she had just taken a swig from.

'Okay so Jasmine _very_ powerful but safely under lock and key' Buffy said, swiftly changing the subject. One Big Bad at a time if you please she thought. 'What about the First?' she asked Illyria who seemed extremely well-informed.

'My intervention has already started to drastically alter this timeline so my knowledge of future events is no longer certain but you must retrieve the scythe from the vineyard' Illyria replied. 'It is the only weapon that can injure the First Evil itself.'

Buffy looked at Illyria 'The scythe? What's the "scythe"?' she asked.

'A weapon infused with magic that is devastating to all demonic creatures. If wielded by a slayer it also increases their power' the God-King replied. 'I could feel it nearby when I was there. It sang to me with words of threat and malice.'

'The vineyard?' Faith repeated. 'If it was at the vineyard why didn't we collect the thing last night?' she asked reasonably.

Illyria looked at her. 'Because the First will now have mobilised all the Bringers it can to try and secure the weapon to prevent you gaining control of it' she replied.

'How can that _possibly_ be a good thing?' Buffy demanded to know.

'It is far more convenient for me if they are all concentrated in one place. I can dispatch a large number at once without excessive use of my powers' Illyria explained. 'The consequences of excessive use would be hazardous' she added, though with no intention of revealing exactly why.

Giles frowned. 'The descriptions from Buffy and the others certainly substantiate the notion that you are extremely powerful Illyria but even you must be overwhelmed at some point, the bear bought down by the pack of wolves' he observed.

Illyria stepped into the centre of the room 'You need a demonstration' she said, beckoning Buffy to join her. The slayer doing so for curiosities sake if nothing else.

'Hit me' Illyria ordered.

Buffy looked to Giles who nodded, intrigued. The slayer obliged and threw a punch just as the God-King made a movement with her hand.

Illyria became a blur. Buffy missed completely and nearly overbalanced to fall on Xander.

The slayer turned and found Illyria standing behind her.

'If the bear could selectively alter the passage of time, so that the wolves moved like glacial ice by comparison, how many could it kill?' Illyria asked rhetorically. 'You _still_ do not understand what I am' she continued. 'I am not merely _powerful_' she said. 'I am _power_ _incarnate_' she declared.

'Super-Smurf got _game_' Faith observed in awe, just as shocked as everyone else in the room.

Illyria looked around. 'That reminds me' she said. 'Is there an XBox around here?' she asked. 'I have not played Crash Bandicoot in a while and though it annoys me I find myself missing it.'

Nobody said anything else for quite a while.


	4. Chapter 4

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR**

**Summers Residence - Sunnydale - April 2003**

Andrew looked out of the window. Wesley had needed more free space than was available inside and had laid out a blanket on the ground. Spread out across the blanket were a large number of weapons, including numerous firearms one of which he was stripping down methodically to clean, sitting down cross-legged facing his arsenal. He was quite mechanical in his movements and utterly expressionless in his demeanour.

From this angle you could clearly see the vicious scar that seemed to encircle much of his neck, how anyone could have survived the blood loss that must have resulted was almost inconceivable.

He had also, once again, not bothered to shave.

'The Rogue Watcher' Andrew began dramatically. 'Banished from the Council for losing the slayer Faith to the Dark Side, he sought redemption on the mean streets of LA fighting evil alongside the ensouled vampyre champion Angel' Andrew said, pausing for effect before continuing. 'But as he looked into the Nietzschean abyss, he that fought monsters became part monster himself, and now, with a soul as tortured as his scarred body, even _he_ does not know whether he is truly a warrior of the light or has he slipped inexorably into shadow.'

'And this is when you tell us one of those guns is a Phaser he took off a dead Klingon he defeated in single combat right?' Rona interrupted, causing a burst of laughter from the potentials.

Andrew speared her with a cold look. 'Silly foolish girl' he said curtly. 'Klingon warriors carry Disruptor pistols not Phasers' he told her shocked by the ignorance. What were they teaching young people in school these days he wondered?

'Funny thing is' Faith observed from the other side of the kitchen 'a few years back Wesley out there was such an uncool wuss he made Andrew here look like fucking Shaft' she told them. 'A shorter honky Shaft anyhow' she said, expanding the analogy.

The slayer opened a cupboard to get a glass. If she drank straight from the milk container again Buffy would kick her ass. 'Andrew's got a good point to make though' she advised. 'Wes is not someone you should take lightly. He'll do whatever it takes, sacrifice anyone, including himself, for the win' she told the potentials. 'When we were hunting Angelus I watched him torture a girl not much older than you with a knife to get the info we needed. The badass look ain't surface decoration it goes right the way through.'

The potentials, some looking more than a bit nervous, turned to look through the window at the man outside again. He was now loading shotgun shells into his pump-action.

'Well I _still_ think that's the hottest damn Watcher I've ever seen' Kennedy remarked off-handedly. 'And I'm gay' she pointed out for emphasis.

Faith laughed 'If he'd looked that good when he first came to Sunnydale I wouldn't have gone off the tracks' she declared. 'Of course the Council would _still_ have fired his Limey ass because I'd have gotten his pants off quicker than you could say "inappropriate Slayer/Watcher relationship".'

'And to think that _I_ used to be the "Hot" watcher' Giles said loudly sticking his head around the corner. 'Faith, you have wounded me deeply' he said with a mournful tone, and an expression of sadness on his face, but an amused look in his eye.

Faith grinned 'Don't sweat it G' she replied. 'I always thought that as older guys went you were definitely worth a jump' she reassured him.

'My masculinity restored I go to fetch more supplies from the store' Giles responded. 'I need two volunteers to help me carry bags' he said pointing to two potentials. 'You and you' he ordered.

Amanda, one of the pointees, grumbled. 'Volunteer, my ass' she moaned.

'Watch your language' Faith chided trying to look stern. 'Hey do as I say not as I do, I'm a lousy role model' she continued in response to the look on Amanda's face.

Several of the potentials nodded in agreement.

Faith looked at them askance. 'But my dress-sense is bitchin'.' she declared, her expression clearly challenging any of them to disagree.

**Shadow Valley Vineyards – April 2003**

The place was still smouldering when they returned in convoy just before twilight. Buffy got out first with Faith as backup, Spike was back at the house looking after the potentials.

A loud clack-clack of Wesley racking his shotgun broke the silence.

Giles turned to the younger Englishman. 'Macho posturing with firearms?' he queried. 'We really need to get you home soon before you start liking weak beer and baseball too' he said.

'Don't worry' Wesley replied nonchalantly. 'I still go berserk if they put the tea in before the milk' he deadpanned.

'The way down is still open' Faith noted, using a sword as a pointer. 'So we thinking it's Bringer Central down there right now?' she asked.

'Without Caleb to delegate his authority over the Bringers to The First will be under more pressure now it has to do everything itself, but its forces are still considerable. It will certainly muster large numbers against us.' "Fred" replied.

Buffy turned to "Fred". 'Your show' she said. 'Lead on' she told her. 'Might want to put your game face on though.'

Illyria morphed from the Burkle persona into her armoured and blue-pigmented form. 'You will follow me down. Try not to get injured' she told the others.

Buffy looked at Illyria and rolled her eyes. 'You may think you're the real deal Blue, but _I've_ been kicking ass and taking names on the Hellmouth for years' she stated coldly, bringing her broadsword up to rest against her shoulder. 'Don't think that just because you're supposed to be a God-King, and I'm just a mortal, that I can't handle myself. Glory thought that, she was a God too, and I slapped her down' the slayer declared.

The God-King looked at her. There was a definite edge there, hidden depths of destruction waiting to be unleashed. Perhaps she had underestimated the human? 'I did not mean to belittle you' she told Buffy. 'I am trying to get the best possible result from this timeline, having to create another is something I wish to avoid.'

'Fair enough then' Buffy replied, having stamped her authority down. 'Let's go hunt some Bringers.'

Giles turned to Wesley. 'Given the shotgun you might be the one to ask, are Bringers actually in hunting season this month and what's the bag limit on those things?'

'You're thinking of pheasant Rupert' Wesley replied, playing along. 'Did they take the students at the Watcher Academy out to the Hampshire Shoots way back in your day?' he asked curiously. 'I was always a dab hand with a Twelve-Bore myself' he said, patting his shotgun.

The older Watcher nodded. 'Yes but it was trickier in the prehistoric era when I was there, what with having to use the spears and stone clubs' he replied.

Faith tilted her head and looked at the two of them in turn. 'It's going to be Limey overload with you two together from now on isn't it?' she asked rhetorically.

Giles sighed. 'Such a young country' he said sadly. 'Yet to embrace the finer things in life such as dry wit and an utterly unflappable persona.'

'Give them a few more centuries they'll come around' Wesley assured him.

Buffy rolled her eyes again. 'Let's just get on with it' she said, following Illyria.

'Bloody Colonials' Giles mumbled.

'I heard that!' Buffy snapped back.

Down the steps the old cellar was a blackened mess, the floor an oozing mess of ashes and wine from the barrels. The smell was rich and unpleasant, the environment downright creepy in the extreme.

Illyria could see fairly adequately in the dark but the others carried flashlights in the hand not carrying a weapon, except that is for Wesley who had taped his own light to his shotgun. The beams skittered off the damp carbon ash and threw shadows that seemed to move as if they were alive themselves.

'I've seen this film' Faith spoke up. 'The chick with the best rack always dies first and with these two as the only alternatives I'm in trouble' she said with mock nervousness.

Buffy hushed her but Wesley nearly choked holding back a guffaw.

A figure suddenly leaped from the shadows into the beam being projected by Giles flashlight. 'Turok-Han' he called out as the beast bared its teeth at them in challenge.

'Shit' Buffy swore. Uber-Vamps were a lot tougher than Bringers she thought, raising her sword for the fight as it readied to attack. 'These things go down hard and they hit like Mike Tyson so don't let yourself get pinned' she called out. 'Easiest way to kill them is decapitation' she advised.

Snarling the Turok-Han launched itself at the closest intruder.

Illyria span to meet the attack and drove her fist towards the vampire, the Turok-Han instantly exploding into a cloud of dust.

'Or you _could_ just punch their hearts right out of their chest through their back' Buffy added reasonably.

Faith looked at Illyria who was partially illuminated by her flashlight with the light skittering over the dust falling around her. 'Christ, she's mean!' the slayer observed appreciatively, and in mild awe.

'Yeah but where's the cool funny lines after the kill and the stylish moves?' Buffy asked disparagingly. 'She's missing out on all the best bits of slaying demons for a living' she opined. 'Where's the fun? Where's the joy?' she asked.

'We've got company!' Wesley called out urgently, pointing his shotgun/flashlight towards the threat as a horde of Bringers began charging towards them.

Illyria looked at them dispassionately and swept her hand in front of her.

Buffy, Faith, Giles and Wesley watched the God-King disappear into a blur and then suddenly the mass of onrushing Bringers was simply torn apart, limbs, cowls and body parts flying everywhere as something moving too fast to see ripped them apart in a flash with its bare hands.

Buffy grimaced and began following the trail of destruction as it disappeared from view still carving its way through a seemingly inexhaustible column of Bringers.

Stepping over bodies, some still twitching, Wesley noted that using your hands like blades left a much messier wound than a nice sharp sword and he really should have worn his old boots and jeans because they weren't just walking through blood, they were _wading_ through it.

'Well I still think that it would have been cooler if she'd said something to the Bringers like maybe "Resistance is Futile" before doing the Matrix thing' Buffy observed, squelching along towards a cavern opening up ahead.

One of the Bringers stirred and tried to lift an axe, Wesley reacting by lowering his aim to blow its head off. The sound of the shotgun blast was deafening and echoed on for what seemed like an eternity. The other three looked at him in disapproval. 'I'll let you stab the next one' he said sheepishly.

Faith shook her head to get rid of the ringing in her ears and stopping briefly to thrust her sword into another relatively undamaged Bringer before she and the others moved on.

Ahead of them, just far enough along that the lights of four humans could still be seen in the distance, Illyria slid back into the normal flow of time not wishing to use her powers too much. She was still surrounded by Bringers who moved to attack as soon as they could see her but she fought back ferociously smashing bodies and cleaving through her foes using flattened hands like battleaxes.

A Bringer slammed a sword with all its might into her chest, the blade snapping in two but leaving a cut in her armour. Illyria slammed her head back into the face of another behind her then ripped out the first Bringers entrails for its temerity.

Suddenly the onslaught against her lessened as the two slayers, hollering fierce battle cries and with raised and bloody swords arrived on the scene, running to the God-Kings aid. They hacked their way into the Bringers just as the two watchers following up behind appeared, Wesley pumping and firing his shotgun as fast as he could into the ever depleting Bringer ranks and Giles slamming his own sword as hard as he could into the closest enemy before withdrawing it to parry another sword that was swung his direction. After the first few seconds Giles mouth formed into a savage grin as the mild-mannered librarian watcher took a back seat and the Ripper took control. Wesley might look the part but the older Watcher still had a darkness inside him too, kept safely under wraps most of the time but always ready to draw on if necessary.

Wesley dropped the shotgun when it clicked empty and pulled his twin automatics from their shoulder-holsters, blazing away with his .45's, his face a mask of calm as he cut down his opponents.

The Bringers eventually stopped coming. The few that remained were ruthlessly hacked and shot to pieces. The fighting ended as abruptly as it had begun, scant minutes earlier, with the appearance of the Turok-Han.

Breathing heavily from the energetic swordplay Giles illuminated Illyria with his flashlight. Her body and hair were drenched in blood that dripped into the pool by her feet, she looked almost regal in her sheen of gore.

'The First's forces are heavily depleted' Illyria stated spitting blood onto the ground. She had ripped out one Bringers throat with her teeth during the skirmish and she did not like the taste. 'They will recover their numbers in time.'

'Yes they will' a voice agreed. 'Sooner than you think' it claimed.

The five spun. 'Caleb' Faith said.

'It's The First' Giles told her.

The First smiled. 'You took my Good Right Arm away from me, but I don't need an arm, I've got an Army' it claimed. 'And what's the worth of a few dozen Bringers compared to Legions of Turok-Han?'

'More than a few dozen' Illyria countered sweeping her hand around to indicate the devastation she had wrought. 'You are no more omniscient nor omnipotent in this age than you were in mine' she told him. 'I did not take you seriously then and I still do not. Lesser Gods may have worshipped at your feet but I was beyond such foolishness as paying homage to the incorporeal.'

'Illyria my dear' the First replied. 'It's true I am no greater now than I was when you commanded mighty armies but _you_ are so much less now than you were' he declared. 'How long will it be until you can safely use your powers like that again?' it asked. 'Days? Weeks? How many of my true forces could you kill before you were bought down?'

'Enough' Illyria replied curtly and imperiously.

The First shook his head. 'Your days are long gone God-King. Soon you will go the way of all the other Old-Ones' it said. 'But take heart that you will slide into oblivion beside such august company as the last of the Slayers.'

'You're a cocky son-of-a-bitch for a man who's been losing all the battles' Faith told him smiling viciously. 'Might take you more seriously if I see some action to go with all that bullshit you're shovelling.'

Buffy laughed. 'He doesn't do action Faith' she said. 'He talks the talk but walking the walk is just not in his repertoire' she said smugly. 'It's all mind games and no _actual_ game.'

'We'll see' the First replied. 'Anyhow don't need to win the battles, going to win the war instead. See y'all around' it said with a wink then disappeared.

'It _does_ talk the talk pretty well though' Faith admitted forlornly. 'Anyhow aren't we here for a scythe?'

Illyria pointed. 'That way' she said. 'As I get closer its menace builds' she continued. 'One of the Slayers must wrest it from its position in the rock.'

Buffy looked at the Old One. 'Sort of a Sword from the Stone thing like Excalibur?' she asked. 'Only the true King, I mean Queen, can draw the scythe?'

'If it really _is_ Excalibur' Wesley whispered to Giles 'You can be the one to tell Her Majesty back home she's being replaced by Queen Elizabeth the Third.'

Giles shuddered.

'They would not have the strength' Illyria replied indicating Wesley and Giles. 'And I do not wish to go anywhere near it.'

Buffy smirked. 'Scares you does it?'

Illyria frowned. 'I fear nothing' she retorted, 'but the weapon was made to fight the mightiest of demon kind and will not react well to being handled by me as an Old One. Even being close to it makes me… wary.'

'Like a vampire and a crucifix?' Giles theorised.

The Shaper of Things spat onto the ground again. She still couldn't get the taste of that damn Bringer out of her mouth. 'A reasonable analogy' she conceded eventually.

Wesley took a breath. 'So the scythe could kill you?' he asked grimly.

Illyria looked at her guide then to Buffy. 'I could lie and say no but I would try and be honest with you in our dealings' she told the young woman. 'In the hands of a slayer the scythe can end my life, I hope that is not your intention and I trust you feel more secure in your dealings with me to know that.'

Buffy looked her over and nodded. 'Gotta admit to feeling better knowing I can take you down if I have to' she said, 'but more than that I'm starting to improve my opinion of you generally.'

'Your opinion of me weighs less than sunlight' Illyria retorted dismissively. 'I care for your approval not, only your cooperation.'

The slayer grinned. 'Somehow I'm getting the impression that you aren't being quite as straight with me there as you were about the scythe.'

'Think what you will' Illyria told her. 'It matters not. Recover the slayer weapon so that we can leave this place' she said then paused. 'We will have to stop off somewhere to buy mouthwash on the way back to your home' she added.

'Bringer not going to be the next great fast-food taste sensation?' Faith asked, looking at the blood all over the God-Kings face.

'The flavour is unimaginably foul' Illyria responded. 'I have eaten better tasting laboratory equipment' she said, sticking out her tongue in distaste.

Buffy and Faith looked at her strangely then went to collect the scythe.


	5. Chapter 5

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER FIVE**

**Summers Residence - Sunnydale - April 2003**

'Okay so we've put a lid on the First for the time being but we know from experience that it'll be back' Buffy told the assembly.

'And by lid we're being literal because we also just dumped eight tons of quick-setting concrete on top of the seal' Xander announced. 'They won't be digging that back up with a shovel' he said with a grin. 'Once again building contractor power triumphs over evil' he declared. 'I'll be needing a uniform with a cape and a hard-hat' he continued then paused. 'Maybe nix the tights' he decided.

'I wrote my name in the wet concrete' Andrew said happily. 'But I've got a blister from all the manual labour' he whined, holding up his finger.

Xander looked at him through narrowed eyes. 'All _you_ did was turn the cement mixer on and off' he responded incredulously. 'We should have got you to help with the heavy lifting' he told him. 'Build some muscles, maybe even some character.'

'Enough!' Buffy said sharply, not wanting to hear either Andrew whine, or one of Xanders occasional forays into declarations of the quiet dignity of the working man just at that moment. 'Moving on we have the Slayer Scythe in our possession' she said, raising the gleaming silver and red weapon and feeling its power flowing through her body. In every fibre of her being she knew it belonged to her, well her and Faith anyhow, not that she trusted psycho-slayer nearly enough to leave her with it alone yet.

Illyria meanwhile was stood in a corner looking at the scythe like she was trying to stare it out. It's not every day you've got a God having a major personality clash with a piece of enchanted sharp pointy steel in your living room, and the fact it didn't seem all _that_ bizarre was a sad indictment of her life Buffy thought dejectedly.

'What do we know about the scythe?' Kennedy asked. 'Other than it looks kick-ass I mean.'

Buffy passed the thing to Faith who took it gratefully. You felt that maybe you could get hooked on the juice it was putting out but it was a righteous high the other slayer thought, turning it over in her hands.

'Going to go sight-seeing to a pagan pyramid after lunch to find out more' Buffy replied. 'Having Blue Rogers from the 25th Century pointing us towards the answers without needing to think up the questions is saving us an awful lot of research time.'

'They'll be putting us out to pasture' Giles said quietly to Wesley. 'Surplus to requirements.'

Wesley smiled gently. 'If I was going to be put out to stud instead I wouldn't object too much' he replied. They weren't _quite_ quiet enough though, Buffy glared at them and the two watchers had the decency to look guilty.

'I'm going to head back to LA during the lull' Willow announced. 'I've still got to deal properly with Cordelia's unwanted hitchhiker problem. It might take a few days.'

Giles frowned. 'Don't overdo the magicks' he warned. Kennedy looked concerned too and took the young witch's hand.

Willow smiled back at Giles and gave Kennedy's hand a gentle squeeze of reassurance. 'Don't worry I'll be careful' she said. 'Anyhow there's nobody else who could do it and she's our friend.'

Wesley and Fred smiled at her gratefully. 'I'll be heading back home with Willow' Fred told the group. 'Not much I can do here, I was really just trying to help ease Illyria into the fold. I'm a physicist not a fighter at heart.'

She was more than that Wesley thought to himself. Whilst he Giles and the Slayers had been retrieving the Scythe Fred had been telling the potentials stories of how she, just an ordinary, pretty geeky, girl, had taken on monsters year after year with only her wits and courage. It didn't take superpowers, all it took was a belief you were in the right and the willingness to put your friends ahead of everything else, even your own life if need be. The scythe wasn't their ultimate weapon, faith in both the cause and the person fighting alongside you was.

Mind wandering Wesley then looked across at Illyria. He knew why the Old One was here to help, even if only a tiny remnant of Fred had remained behind in the shell when Illyria moved in he was certain it had been more than enough to tilt the scales. To him Fred shined like a light in the darkness sometimes, she was amazing and the presence of the God-King over yonder proved it.

'What about us?' Vi asked.

Faith smirked. 'Guess who's training you now?'

The potential looked at her nervously. 'You?' she asked with concern. Honestly she could easily imagine the so-called "Dark Slayer" beating any girls she thought were slacking or at least poking them with sticks to motivate them.

'Worse' Faith replied, her smirk shifting to an evil smile.

Wesley stood up. 'Who feels like a five mile run' he asked rubbing his hands together then looked around. 'None of you? Well tough because that's what we're doing this afternoon and then after you're warmed up its sword practice with Mr Giles then crossbow's with me' he told the dismayed potentials.

'Five miles?' Rona said aghast.

'Not _all_ of it will be uphill' Wesley assured her. 'I'm easing you gently into your harsh new training regime.'

'I _hate_ this job' Amanda complained to the girl next to her. 'It's like permanent Gym Class with occasional monsters.'

Buffy looked towards Faith. 'See they're getting it after all' she said.

**Guardian Pyramid – Sunnydale – April 2003 **

Kicked clear off its hinges the heavy door shot down the stone steps behind and came to rest in the main chamber below. The pagan temple was lit by flaming torches and put Buffy in mind of an Indiana Jones movie, and me without my whip she thought, trotting down the steps.

There was a curtain ahead that seemed to be obscuring the entrance to another chamber. Buffy prepared to go on through when a voice from behind the curtain stopped her in her tracks as a woman dressed in what might have been priestess robes pushed through the curtain.

'I'd forgotten how young you would be' the woman began. 'Comes from the waiting, the mind plays tricks' she continued somewhat cryptically. Or at least it should have been slightly cryptic. 'I see you've found our weapon' she observed.

'You're the last Guardian right?' Buffy replied. 'The women who made the scythe, been watching the watchers?' she asked.

Near immortals that have lived for centuries and think they're beyond being shocked actually shock pretty dramatically, it's the sheer unexpectedness of it., and the Guardians jaw dropped. 'How do you know that?' she asked in bewilderment.

'Got a heads up' Buffy replied, 'long story' she said raising a hand to indicate they could go over it later.

The Guardian frowned. 'So much for being a secret society' she said holding out her hands to receive the Scythe. This was _so_ not going the way she'd been rehearsing for the last millennia or so.

Buffy passed the Guardian the weapon. She handled it respectfully. 'What's your name?' the Guardian asked.

'Buffy' the slayer replied.

'No, really?' the Guardian asked slightly suspiciously, it just couldn't be she thought.

Buffy shrugged. 'And this is Faith' she said indicating the other girl who had just bounded down the stairs behind her.

The Guardian looked at the pair. 'There's _two_ of you?' she said incredulously. 'Two slayers at the same time?' she asked. This was just getting _weird_ she decided.

'Another long story' Buffy told her. 'Now about the scythe?'

The Guardian looked at it. 'It was forged on the other side of the world but last used right here to defeat the last pure demon that walked upon the Earth the rest were driven under… AND WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?' she cried out suddenly, gripping the scythe defensively and staring past the two slayers to something behind them.

Buffy span around, tensing her body and expecting to be attacked, then she relaxed just as quickly, as did Faith who had done likewise. 'Don't worry that's just Illyria' Buffy explained, turning back to the Guardian. 'Ancient God-King, superpowers, digs the colour blue for some reason…'

'But… but… it's an Old One!' the Guardian interrupted in horrified tones. 'They were banished to the Deeper Well to rest safely secured for all eternity.'

Illyria ignored the raving woman and addressed Buffy. 'I encountered a Turok-Han hiding in a tomb nearby waiting for night to fall. The First must have intended to have it assassinate the Guardian now Caleb is not available for the task.'

'And?' Buffy asked.

Illyria held out a closed fist and opened it to reveal a handful of dust some of which trickled away to fall slowly to the stone surface. 'Vampires do not make for good trophies' she stated in a tone that sounded almost bitter about it.

'As you can see she got parole' Faith told the Guardian off-handedly. 'And you can relax 'cause like you just heard she's all reformed and helping out the good guys now' she added. 'So now _that's_ sorted can you make with the information we _don't_ know already.'

The Guardian looked at the three of them in disbelief then handed Buffy back the scythe. 'I think I need to sit down and have a drink' she said.

'We've got a few barrels of what I'm told is really good wine back at the house' Buffy said helpfully. 'Spike insisted on rescuing some of it before we torched the Vineyard a couple of days back.'

'Spike?' the old woman queried.

'Vampire with a soul' Faith told her, 'fights for our team now too… used to be giving Buffy there a regular session of the old horizontal refreshment not so long ago' she added with a smirk.

'A vampire slayer with a vampire as a _lover_?' the Guardian said eyes widening. 'A vampire with a _soul_?'

'There's another vampire with a soul too' Buffy noted. 'Also fights evil.'

Faiths smirk widened. 'She's screwed _him_ too' she said, ignoring the glare Buffy was now sending in her direction. 'The potentials call her Buffy the Vampire Layer behind her back you know' she announced, trying not to laugh.

'They call me WHAT?' Buffy snapped loudly.

'A really _big_ drink' the Guardian said to herself. 'I haven't left the temple in centuries' she said more loudly, trying to restore some sanity to the situation. 'I never knew when you would eventually arrive. A seer predicted a few weeks from now but you can't trust them completely so I couldn't take the risk' she told them.

Buffy looked thoughtful. 'That would explain the clothes' she decided. 'We can stop off and get you something more up to date' she offered. 'Maybe the hairdressers would be a good idea too' the slayer considered, looking at the womans somewhat unkempt locks.

Faith nodded her agreement. 'Now you might be surprised to hear this oh great, ancient, and we're hoping _wise_, Guardian woman' she began, 'but the seer was probably spot on' she said. 'We're just kinda running on like an accelerated timetable at the moment with The First sprinting like crazy to catch up.'

The Guardian took a deep breath and thought about it. 'No, I think I'm beyond being surprised now' she said eventually, feeling better for that. 'Was it strictly necessary to kick my door off?' she asked Buffy looking at it laying there. 'You could have at least tried knocking first' she pointed out reasonably.

Buffy cringed. 'I'll have my friend Xander come round and fix it sorry' she said apologetically. 'He's good at stuff like that.'

'As for the not being surprised, well that sounds like a challenge to me' Faith told the old woman. 'I used to be evil you know' she said, putting an arm around her and leading her outside. 'Worked for a guy that turned into a huge snake demon…'

Buffy looked around, not her choice of interior design she decided. 'Just another day at the office' she said with a sigh, shouldering the scythe and following them back up the steps. "Buffy the Vampire Layer" she seethed to herself. 'Ten mile run tomorrow… maybe twelve' she muttered darkly.

**Summers Residence - Sunnydale - April 2003**

The girls arrived in a ragged group following on behind. Wesley was glad to see that although several of them were probably better runners than he was, the majority weren't and the pace he'd set had been punishing for them like it was intended.

Dawn was waiting outside with a grin and some water as they arrived. Rona took a disposable plastic cup from a tray and poured it over her head.

Wesley looked around. 'Oh come on I've got twenty years on some of you' he told them disparagingly. 'If you think you're tired now imagine yourself in a running battle that goes on for a couple of hours' he said, 'because it can happen.'

'Can we go take a shower?' one of the potentials asked.

'Not a chance' Wesley replied. 'After you've had something to drink it's time for Mr Giles and the promised sword practice.'

'So what will _you_ be doing?' another asked.

Wesley chuckled. '_I'll_ be taking a shower' he replied, walking over to his SUV parked nearby. With space at a premium he'd actually been sleeping in the back of it so most of his things were still in there. Opening the back he pulled off his sweaty T-Shirt and grabbed his washing things and a towel.

'Holy Crap' Molly exclaimed, seeing his bare torso. He was _covered_ in scars. 'Is that a bullet hole?' she asked.

'Zombie Cop' Wesley replied. 'I _do_ live in LA' he added, like that was a decent enough explanation.

Several of the potentials looked him over. 'And the rest?' one asked.

'Some of it was Faith's work, she tortured me once you know, the rest is down to demons of various descriptions' Wesley told them. 'I know they say chicks dig scars' he said, 'not that I've actually seen much evidence supporting that saying in the past' he continued, 'most just go "Eewww", but you're all way too young for me so stop buggering about and get to practice' he ordered.

The potentials all headed off to the garden to see Giles while Wesley headed inside, stopping to take a drink being offered by Dawn. 'You know if you're taking a shower you _could_ shave afterwards too' she told him in amused tones.

'I'll take it under advisement' Wesley replied after taking a swig of water. 'Unfortunately however I decapitated my Lawyer girlfriend recently so I'm looking for new counsel at present' he told her.

Dawn looked him in the eyes. 'You just _love_ playing the tortured avenger with the harrowed past don't you?' she asked with a wry smile.

Wesley looked at the girl expressionlessly for a moment then winked. 'Our secret' he said. 'If Angel can get away with the slightly affected persona for that long I think I can run with it for a while yet' he told her.

Dawn giggled. 'Our secret' she agreed. 'I'll pretend to be wary of you still and I've got to admit the new Wesley is a _huge_ improvement' she said. 'You used to be a serious… what would Spike have called you? … "Wanker" did I get the Brit slang right?' she checked.

Wesley laughed. 'Spot on' he confirmed. 'But it's not _all_ an act' he warned her seriously in case she might think otherwise.

'I've heard from Faith what you did to find Angelus, and something from Willow about keeping a girl locked in a closet' Dawn replied. 'I know it's not all an act' she told him. 'We need you here because of that.'

The ex-watcher looked at her with new respect. 'Dawn you've matured into a very thoughtful and insightful young woman' he told her. 'It's a pleasure to know you' he added, with the tiniest bow of the head.

'So badass yet still _so_ British' Dawn responded, both pleased by the sentiment and amused by the way he said it.

'Attractive too?' he asked with a coy smile.

Dawn looked at him. 'You're too old for me' she replied. 'You said so yourself talking to the potentials' she reminded him.

'Damned by my own words' Wesley said sadly. 'So the scars don't do anything for you either?' he queried.

Dawn shook her head. 'Not so much' she told him.

Wesley sighed. 'If I ever find the twerp who came up with that stupid saying I'm going to stick my shotgun barrel up his left nostril' he vowed.

'See, now there's the new Wesley we've all come to know and fear' Dawn said with a grin. 'You're _not _going to shave are you?' she asked rhetorically.

'You already know me so well' Wesley replied. 'We're soul-mates you and I' he added, pretending to flirt.

'Sorry Wes but you're like in your mid thirties and necrophilia isn't my thing' Dawn responded, 'and like look at those scars I mean like… Eewww' she said, starting to laugh.

The sound of swords clanging against swords started to echo around the neighbourhood as Wesley went to get his shower. He'd shave tomorrow he decided, rubbing his chin.

**Summers Residence - Sunnydale - April 2003**

The Guardian looked across the table, less than pleased by some of the company. 'The Shadow Men cannot be trusted' she told Buffy. 'They put their own agenda ahead of everything else including the slayer's life.'

'I think we might call that big-picture thinking' Wesley retorted. 'The needs of the many outweighing the needs of the chosen one as they might say, anyhow as for myself I'm an _ex_ "Shadow-Man" in any case' he told the old woman.

Giles hushed the younger man. 'You're not helping' he chided him. 'I assure you that I care very deeply for Buffy' he told the Guardian 'and I would put very few things ahead of her, my own life not included' he declared. He clearly meant it which made Faith wish her relationship with Wesley was remotely as amiable. She leaned against the kitchen cupboards with her arms crossed and began to run through her least favourite, but most frequent activity, pondering "what-if".

'Are you certain of these men?' the old woman asked Buffy and Faith. 'They have the scent of evil about them' she stated. 'He certainly _looks_ evil' she added, indicating Wesley who resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at her like he might have done with Cordelia.

'I think we could both admit to certain… indiscretions in our respective lives' Giles responded, 'but the same could be said of many of our allies in this fight who, like ourselves, have proven where their allegiances truly lay when the crunch came' he said.

The old woman looked to Buffy. 'The Shadow Men I can understand' she said, 'even the vampire, though the notion is outlandish, but an _Old One_?' she exclaimed. 'You cannot _begin_ to comprehend the danger it represents.'

'We've seen it, I mean her, in action and trust me the possible danger was there to see' Buffy replied. 'But just because Illyria is a _possible_ threat does not mean we should react as if she's an _actual_ threat' she declared, turning her head slightly to deliver a look of opprobrium at Giles. There was a clear parallel here with his own prior scheming with Principal Wood to do away with Spike.

Giles inwardly winced at Buffy's reproachful look and tried to look remorseful. Spike _had_ turned out to be a useful ally and the parallel was pretty obvious to him too.

'The weapon was forged for the purposes of defeating such as this Illyria' the Guardian told them. 'The demon itself knows this which is why it reacts to the scythes presence' she said.

'Okay, now I'm drawing a line under this whole thing' Buffy told her flatly. 'I am _not_ going to walk into the next room to fillet Illyria so you can ease off on the nudging' she stated with finality.

'Foolhardy' the Guardian opined.

'Tell you what' Wesley interrupted. 'How about _you_ try helping out yourself like Illyria has' he said, surprised at the urge he had to defend the demon.

'I helped make the scythe' the Guardian responded coldly.

'And what have you done lately because that was a long time ago' Wesley retorted. 'You may not like the Council, sorry the "Shadow Men", but at least they've been out doing something constructive for the last few dozen decades' he pointed out.

Faith nodded her agreement. 'Hate to say it, being big with the woman power and all' she said, nodding respectfully to the Guardian, 'but Wes makes a fair point' she agreed. 'You could earn some instant credibility if you make with the wicked mojo or come up with the killer info' she told the old woman.

'Your ultimate weapon already rests in the palm of your hands' the Guardian declared, looking at Buffy who was absent-mindedly turning the scythe in her hands again.

Buffy looked down at it. 'The shadow dudes gave me a vision of what the First's got under the seal and unless we can get fifty-thousand Turok'Han to line up in a neat orderly row for a couple of years so I can decapitate them one at a time this thing is not "Ultimate" enough' she said.

There was a knock at the door. Faith got up and opened it to find Xander on the other side. 'Illyria wants a word' he announced.

Buffy shrugged. 'Let her in' she replied.

Xander and Faith stepped aside and the Old One entered the room. 'Has this one told you anything worth hearing?' Illyria asked, looking to her Guide.

Wesley shook his head.

'I am not surprised' Illyria responded. 'The forces who style themselves good seem to be universally encumbered with seers, mystics and sages who are of extremely limited practical assistance beyond unnecessarily cryptic clues and failed prophecy' she opined. 'If the Senior Partners of the Wolf, Ram and Hart were as useless as the Powers-That-Be, evil would have been utterly defeated throughout the multiverse aeons ago.'

'So do _you_ know what we need to do?' Buffy asked.

'Yes, but I must admit it was originally your idea in the original timeline so I can take no credit for it' Illyria replied. 'You will use the witch Willow to direct the true power of the Scythe into its intended purpose' she informed the slayer.

'Which is what?' Giles asked.

'To simultaneously activate every potential around this world into a vampire slayer and create an army such as evil has never faced before' Illyria told them emotionlessly.

'Oh my God' Wesley responded in shock.

'Illyria looked at him. 'God-_King_' she reminded her chosen Qwa'Ha Xahn. 'You were successful in this plan in the original timeline' she told Buffy, 'but you lost many potentials and slayers before victory over the First and they will be needed for what you must do afterwards' she told her.

Buffy was still too stunned by the revelation to speak. Instead Giles looked at Illyria and asked the question. 'Which is what exactly?' he asked.

'You must gather every slayer in the world, train them, arm them for battle and make war on the forces of the Wolf, Ram and Hart' Illyria replied. 'And once they are defeated here in this realm we will open portals to the other dimensions where they reside and you will lead your troops against them there also, and so on throughout the multiverse' she declared.

Illyria paused to let that sink in before turning to the Guardian. 'You will help forge new Scythes' she commanded. 'There are dimensions where they would be the only weapons powerful enough to defeat the enemies who reside there.' The God-King then addressed Giles, 'You and the witch will gather humans with knowledge of magicks and teach them to use their skills in a support role for the Slayer Legions,' she told him, turning now to Wesley. 'The armaments technology of the humans of this era is surprisingly effective' she said. 'You will help choose, develop and obtain firearms, explosives and other weapons to equip our forces.'

As everyone looked at her in shock the Old One's voice rose to a thunder. 'It may take years of preparation but we will vanquish our enemies for all time and in all places' she declared with utter certainty. 'I will personally dispatch any of the Senior Partners we encounter with my bare hands and make trophies of any parts of them worthy of display' she vowed.

Faith looked around, no one else looked like they were going to speak so she decided to. 'Say what you like' she began, 'but you've got to give her credit, the girls _definitely_ got vision' she quipped.

Giles shook his head. 'The enormity of what you are suggesting is too staggering for me to get my head around it' he told Illyria, 'but I must ask _why_ are you trying to do all of this?' he wanted to know.

Illyria regarded the watcher. 'Vengeance' she replied simply.

Mental note, thought Buffy, do not under any circumstances piss off Blue, she decided. She takes holding a grudge to new and unbelievably scary levels.


	6. Chapter 6

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER SIX**

**Summers Residence - Sunnydale - April 2003**

Wesley sighed, they had been going over the same ground for nearly an hour. 'Illyria I'm afraid there is far more to consider than you are making out' he told her. 'Even if we _can_ activate all the potentials and defeat the First your subsequent plan requires far more than merely troops' he said, 'it would require resources that we simply do not possess.'

Illyria regarded her Qwa Ha Xahn. 'Did you really think I would have embarked upon this course of action without careful preparation and planning?' she asked him. 'I made careful study of the mechanics of this world and also of the writings of its military theorists some of whom I found surprisingly insightful' she continued. 'One phrase I encountered in my research that resonated much given the nature of your financially based industrial society was that "Amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics" and I took this truism to heart' she said.

The God-Kings torso armour warped and opened slightly and she reached inside and pulled out a very incongruous looking object which she passed to Buffy as the leader of the group. The slayer took it with a puzzled expression on her face.

'The Half-Breed Angel and his followers were seduced by the power available to the Wolf, Ram and Hart in the original timeline' Illyria told them. 'Lacking remotely equivalent resources themselves they deluded themselves they could turn those of their enemies against them' she said. 'It was a foolish in the extreme to think they would not be also turned at the same time but of course they were' she announced. 'I therefore determined a way for your forces to achieve a greater logistical parity with your foe and it rests in your hands' she informed Buffy.

Buffy rattled the square plastic box 'And this is exactly?' she asked curiously.

'The box contains a DVD-ROM which holds information relating to business news and the movement of the stockmarket for the next two years' Illyria replied. 'I have also used the Shells innate ability to remember long strings of digits to memorise several forthcoming winning Lottery Numbers to give you adequate seed money with which to invest in the market' she continued. 'You should be able to turn this information into considerable financial resources in a short time.'

Giles made a choking noise.

'Define "considerable" in money terms' Buffy asked, now staring intently at the innocent and non-descript looking plastic case.

'Several hundred million dollars' Illyria replied emotionlessly. 'Not a fraction of the financial power of the Wolfram and Hart Corporation but still orders of magnitude beyond what you have at your disposal now' she stated accurately. 'I also took the liberty of giving Willow the witch a note for the Half-Breed Angel with a set of winning lottery numbers for this week which was unclaimed in the original timeline' the God-King told her. 'I thought it would help lift his spirits if he could purchase the Dodge Viper he was so fond of and there were also a list of items on it he should procure immediately to aid in the battles with the first' she said.

'Fuck me' Faith swore quietly staring at the floor.

'Such a reward is unnecessary' Illyria told her. 'In any case I seem to have inherited the shells heterosexual preferences' she said.

Faith stared at the God-King. 'Was that a joke?' the slayer asked incredulously.

'Any humour in the statement was unintentional' Illyria replied. 'I have no inclination to be amusing.'

Buffy squeezed her eyes shut and thought deeply for a few seconds. 'Okay' she began after gathering her wits, 'What other world shattering revelations are you waiting for the right time to tell us' she asked the Old One.

'World Shattering?' Illyria repeated quizzically. 'None' she replied. 'My idea for stealing thermonuclear devices from the major military powers of this planet and sending them through portals to the more dangerous hell dimensions would be merely city-shattering at best' she said regretfully.

Buffy merely made a sort of strained coughing sound while Giles choked out a rasping 'Good God it's like listening to the machinations of a more ambitious Genghis Khan.'

The slayer collected herself 'There will be _no_ unauthorised thefts of Hydrogen Bombs' Buffy told Illyria seriously, shaking her finger.

Illyria signalled her compliance with a shrug 'I will broach the topic again later when your mood is more reasonable' she replied.

Wesley chuckled remembering a famous quote from the Duke of Wellington. 'Well I don't know what she'll do to the enemy' he said, 'but she scares the hell out of me' he told the group.

**Sunnydale High School – April 2003**

Principal Robin Wood was getting used to strange visitors in his office but they didn't usually have blue hair, well not unless they were students with more adventurous fashion sensibilities anyhow.

'She's a god?' he asked in surprise, looking across at the young woman. Other than the blue hair she looked completely normal and was wearing a quite attractive summer dress.

Buffy nodded. 'Yes' she replied. 'Not _the_ God obviously, and she's not like omnipotent or anything but "God" pretty much sums it up' she told him.

'I assume by "_the_ God" you are referring to that of the Cult of the Dead Carpenter' Illyria responded. 'I have not met him and he does not seem that formidable beyond his symbol having a negative effect on vampires' she said.

'Cult of the…?' Buffy queried. 'Oh you mean Christianity. "Dead Carpenter"… funny. Blasphemous, but funny' she said.

'Why is she here?' Wood asked pointedly.

'Oh, she wants to be on hand to keep a close eye on the hellmouth seal in the school basement so I was hoping you could give her a job so she's actually got a valid reason to be hanging around the school if anyone asks' Buffy replied. 'I think the parents would object to the whole demon-god in the place where their kids are thing so we were thinking cover-story' she explained.

The principal looked at Buffy. 'Are you insane?' he asked as politely as he could. 'I mean what can she do?' he wanted to know, 'Deputy Student Councillor maybe?'

Buffy grimaced. 'Oh hell no' she said quickly. 'Half the kids she talked problems over with would end up throwing themselves off buildings, joining a satanic cult or invading Poland' she told him semi-seriously. 'Can't you think of something more suitable?' she requested.

'Janitor?' Wood asked.

Buffy caught the look of displeasure in Illyria's eyes. 'And moving swiftly on… something else perhaps?' she said.

'I have much of the shells knowledge of science' Illyria declared. 'I could teach the young humans physics or another related academic field' she suggested.

Buffy grinned. 'There's an idea' she agreed. 'You could say that the hair colour is due to a chemical accident where you used to work' she told Illyria.

Wood scratched his chin. 'Well we _could_ use a Teaching Assistant for Mr Jenkins' he considered. 'He's getting on in years and to be honest the students run rings around him.'

'I will enforce strict discipline' Illyria stated. 'They will learn or they will suffer' she said, pounding a clenched fist into an open palm with a hefty thump.

Buffy baulked. 'No eviscerations of any kind' she said hurridly. 'No trophy taking, no flaying and no mysterious cases of spontaneous combustion' she ordered.

'As you wish' Illyria replied calmly. 'I will not injure them… physically.'

'No psychological warfare techniques' Buffy added, turning her head to Principal Wood. 'She's been reading a lot of military manuals of late' the slayer explained. 'I caught her teaching the potentials interrogation methods earlier. She wanted to kidnap a Bringer for a practical demonstration and she'd already borrowed a pair of pliers from Xander' she told him.

Robin Wood blinked and he felt his cheek involuntarily twitch.

'I see now why this Mr Jenkins cannot control his students' Illyria commented. 'He clearly has no proper sanction he can use to prevent insurrection' she complained. 'In my day if we were training warriors and they failed to maintain full concentration we would decimate them, choose one in ten at random and beat them to death to encourage the others' she informed the educator of human children.

'I'll suggest it to the school board' Wood told her deadpan.

Illyria nodded her approval. 'You would be pleased with the effectiveness of the technique' she assured him. 'In the meantime I will merely do my best' she added. 'Buffy suggests my name be abbreviated whilst here, you may inform the staff and students my name is Ria Burkle' she told him.

This could very well be the worst mistake of his life Robin Wood considered, the whole thing with Spike paled by comparison. 'Can you start Monday?' he asked as welcomingly as he could. It was a good thing he had been raised by a slayer and then a watcher, dealing with this kind of situation was not exactly the norm for people doing his day job.

'I will be here' Illyria told him then paused. 'Does the canteen provide Mexican Food?' she queried.

Wood shook his head. 'Not as a rule' he replied.

'I will bring a packed lunch' Illyria decided. 'We should check on the seal' she advised Buffy. 'See you Monday morning' she told the principal, turning to leave.

Buffy turned to Robin. 'If she accidentally destroys part of the building or sends a kid to a Hell Dimension because she gets cranky just let me know' she told him, giving him a big thumbs up. Following Illyria out she then stopped at the door then turned back to him again. 'Ermm... There's not anything in the Science Department she could use to make Weapons of Mass Destruction with is there?' she asked nervously.

Worst mistake _ever_ Wood decided, shaking his head.

**Summers Residence - Sunnydale - April 2003**

Xander entered through the front door with a death grip on the pieces of paper in his hand. 'I got the lottery tickets' he said before they were snatched from his hand by Anya who started to do the "Money Dance" for the first time since Willow destroyed the Magic Shop and ended her foray into commerce. Dawn quickly joined in mimicking the moves but with more style. 'I am _so_ getting a Porsche' the younger Summers sibling announced joyfully.

Giles frowned. 'This money, which I'll remind you we do not actually _have_ yet, is _supposed_ to be used to rebuild the Council and fight evil _not_ buy fripperies' he declared.

Buffy looked at her sister and Anya dancing. 'As you're going to be the new head of the Council' she responded, 'we'll get you a Jaguar as a company car' she told him then enthusiastically joined in the dancing herself.

Giles sighed sadly. 'Your priorities are poorly placed' he opined. 'We still haven't defeated the First Evil and your thoughts are for material goods' he noted.

Wesley held a magazine up in front of him. 'Have you _seen_ the new Jaguar XKR?' he asked, pointing at a photograph of the thing.

The older watcher frowned. 'Not you too' he chided then looked at the picture for a long while, a _very_ long while. 'No' he eventually said forcefully, 'get thee behind me Satan' he told the magazine and it's four-wheeled temptress.

'Supercharged 4.2 Litre V8' Wesley told him, 390 horsepower, nought to sixty in 5.2 seconds' he enthused.

Dawn tried another tack. 'The spirits of British Automobile Engineers long past need you to make amends for owning a BMW' she told Giles. 'They will haunt you for eternity otherwise' she warned forebodingly.

Giles considered that argument and failed to find an obvious flaw. 'Alright' he agreed, 'but it's got to be black and I'm _not_ going to bloody well dance' he told them, snatching the magazine from the younger man and starting to read the article that accompanied the picture. Oh I'll look good in that, he thought to himself.

'I know an architect that can design us the coolest new headquarters' Xander told everyone. 'I'm thinking a load of gleaming marble and secret elevators' he continued. 'And a workshop in the basement that looks like someone stole it from Lockheed-Martin' he added.

'Illyria will want a hollowed out volcano with a moat around it full of sharks with frickin laser-beams on their heads' Dawn replied laughing. 'Just make sure there's a garage for my Porsche' she added, still dancing away.

'You're going to University' Buffy told her. 'I'm thinking Harvard… or maybe Oxford.'

'That's like saying you're going on holiday to either Blackpool or Bermuda' Wesley murmured to Giles with a smirk.

'Hey so what do _we_ get?' Rona demanded to know, arms crossed.

'A salary and a generous expense account' Faith said. 'But if _she's_ getting a Porsche' she said pointing to Dawn 'I want one too.'

'What kind of salary?' Rona wanted to know.

'Well based on the data on that disk' Amanda said tapping keys on the laptop, 'and I'm not a _genius_ at math I'm just good at it so you'd better check my work' she admitted, 'the Council should be able to spring for at least maybe fifty to seventy-five thousand bucks a year per slayer factoring in the other estimated expenses Mr Wyndam-Pryce gave me to work with' she said.

'Seventy-Five thousand dollars?' Rona responded, eyes widening. 'Oh _hell_ _yeah_! This job's looking up' she enthused, trying to imitate Anya's money dance as well.

'Depends on how well the investments are made' Amanda told them. 'I mean the ones much beyond the middle of 2005 because we've got a pretty good idea of what will be happening _until_ then' she said, pointing at the computer display.

'We will have to be careful not to distort the stock market' Giles warned. 'If we're not careful we could accidentally change it ourselves and then all the information we have will be useless' he said.

'We should be alright with relatively small purchases of limited amounts of stocks' Wesley considered. 'But we should be worried about something else too.'

'Yes?' Buffy asked.

Wesley smiled gently. 'After the first few hundred million the US Securities and Exchange Commission is going to be all _over_ our arse thinking we're involved in insider trading somehow' he told her with a chuckle.

'It would be wise to make sure that a certain percentage of the funds are allocated to bolstering the Angels Investigation organisation in Los Angeles' Illyria told the humans, more and more of whom were randomly gyrating around the room in a display of mystifying joviality. She had only just entered the house having been previously outside sparring with Spike under the gaze of a number of interested potentials. 'The core of the power base of the Wolf, Ram and Hart on this world is there' she told them, 'and they require close surveillance and the occasional small-scale intervention to keep them in check until you launch an all-out offensive.'

'Okay so we'll get the moat with the sharks put around the Hyperion' Dawn told her and started giggling hysterically.

The God-King ignored the girl. 'I would hope for a team of slayers to be put at the Half-Breed Angels disposal, he will need the additional… muscle' she said, trying to develop her use of slang.

'Hey I'll volunteer for that' Faith announced. 'Me and Fang get on like a house on fire ever since I tried to kill him' she said.

Buffy looked at her. 'You do know that attempted murder isn't a generally accepted bonding ritual in normal society right?' she asked rhetorically.

'Hey I tried to kill you too girlfriend and look at us now' Faith replied grinning. 'That was my mistake with Wes you know, I only mussed him up a bit' she said. 'But I think I'm growing on him now.'

Wesley glared at her, then to her relief smiled in amusement indicating it had been in jest. He really was starting to lighten up a bit with her she was glad to see, eventually they might be less awkward with each other she hoped.

'I'm quite happy being a casual acquaintance at best' Anya quickly told Faith.

Illyria turned around and headed back to Spike who was now teaching some of the nastier tricks of unarmed combat that he knew. The God-King wondered to herself if these people were quite as mad as they seemed sometimes or there was just something about humanity she needed to know that had disappeared from the shell along with Fred's Soul.

It was strangely pleasurable to see Wesley though, especially here in this timeline where his curiosity about her was not tinged with looks of hate resulting from the death of his lover in his arms. She was here for vengeance, she had not lied, but she was here for something else too. The Shaper of Things, perhaps better called in this timeline the _Re_-Shaper of Things she considered, was driven by another less comfortable emotion than just a healthy lust for revenge.

Illyria was increasingly convinced that the damn shell was corrupting her mind because she was _sure_ she had romantic feelings towards that scruffy human Wyndam-Pryce. It sickened her but it just wouldn't go away regardless of the amount of violence she wrought.

Even the reason she had decided to keep her hair blue and retain her own speech patterns from now on, even when adopting the look of the Burkle persona, was so that Wesley would always be looking at her _not_ Fred when they talked. It was nauseating to know she was acting this way but she couldn't help herself.

Hitting Spike however made her feel a bit better for a while so she decided to wail on the Vampire for another half-an-hour or so. She just couldn't get enough of the sounds he made when she pounded on him even if she was pulling her punches a lot.

Spike saw her walk out again smiling and clenching her fists. He winced and looked at her pleadingly 'Leave the face alone and no hitting below the belt' he implored.

'Agreed' Illyria told him and moved to the attack.


	7. Chapter 7

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

**Summers Residence - Sunnydale - April 2003**

'So where have you been all morning?' Buffy asked, opening the front door to let Illyria inside.

The Old One held up several shopping bags. 'I have been to the Mall to obtain clothes more suitable for working at the school and other items I found I desired' she replied.

'You _paid_ for them right?' Buffy asked, imagining the God-King simply walking out with the goods dragging half a dozen security guards along for the ride.

'Wesley paid with his Credit Card' Illyria told her. 'He is bringing more bags from his vehicle' she added. 'He did not seem to enjoy visiting the Mall as much as Anya, or indeed myself' she noted.

Buffy nodded. 'That would have been either the guy thing or the paying thing' she reasoned. 'Maybe both' she added. 'So Anya came along too?' she asked. To be honest Buffy hadn't actually noticed she was gone.

'She was very helpful in helping me select appropriate clothes and small items of jewellery' Illyria told the Slayer. 'I found her company relaxing also.'

Dawn had been listening in and nearly drowned on the glass of juice she had just taken a swig from. She started coughing loudly.

'Anya's company… _relaxing_?' Buffy queried in considerable surprise. Anya herself would readily admit most people found her strangely literal at best, sometimes downright irksome. It wasn't even the vengeance-demon thing apparently, as they'd found out one night when Anya got drunk and started up on her life story, she'd _always_ been like that. One good thing about having Andrew around was that Anya seemed far more tolerable company, irritation is relative.

Illyria walked over to the couch and laid the shopping bags on top of it. 'Anya does not speak in metaphor or half-truths as the rest of you do' she told Buffy. 'She is direct, saying what she means, and she does not pepper her speech with huge amounts of cultural references I do not necessarily understand' she explained.

Wesley hauled another four large bags inside. 'If those lottery tickets don't win they'll cut my credit card in half' he moaned. 'Did you _have_ to get the necklace and the matching bracelet?' he asked Illyria.

'They called to me' Illyria replied. 'Anya agreed they were attractive to look at also' she added in almost defensive tones.

Wesley dropped the bags. 'Blue Sapphires' he said. '_Who_ would have guessed?' he asked with a distinctly sarcastic tone.

'You do not like them?' Illyria responded hurriedly, she seemed almost flustered.

'Only the paying for them' Wesley replied. 'I'll help Anya get the boxes out of the car' he said.

Buffy looked at Illyria curiously. If she didn't know better she'd swear the God-King had a thing for the ex-Watcher. After all he was the only one she'd assigned a pet name to, Quiz-whatever, she'd reacted badly to the idea he didn't like the blue stoned jewellery when she'd claimed forcefully that the opinions of others "mattered less than sunlight" and her head cranked around to follow him walking away.

Illyria turned back to Buffy who was looking at her with raised eyebrows. 'What?' she asked.

'Nothing' Buffy replied, deciding to keep an eye on those two.

Anya arrived holding a number of boxes. 'Games Console' she explained. 'And some games.'

'I do not sleep and get bored at night when there is nothing to do' Illyria explained to Buffy. 'I patrol for vampires and bringers but there are too few and battling them no test of my abilities in any case' she said. 'Video games however constantly challenge my reflexes and hand-eye coordination' she told the slayer. 'I was annoyed to learn that Doom 3 has not yet been released, I liked that one, I found the monsters, dark hallways and simulated gore very amusing' she said.

'Okay…' Buffy responded guardedly. 'So what's in the big box Wesley is wrestling with?' she asked.

'Satellite Dish' Illyria told her. 'Your choice of TV Channels is woefully inadequate. And it could be installed and running quicker than Cable.'

'If every consumer was like her the lives of retailers everywhere would be enriched beyond measure' Anya observed happily.

**Hyperion Hotel – Los Angeles – April 2003**

Cordelia opened her eyes. 'Is it gone?' she asked the smiling faces surrounding her. She was laying on a couch in the main lobby.

'Yes' Angel told her. 'And how many mystical pregnancies is this for you now Cordy?' he asked with a wry smile.

'One more and I qualify for a discount on my next ultrasound' Cordy joked. 'Thanks guys' she said and pulled Angel in for a hug which he accepted without looking too uncomfortable about it.

'Don't thank us' Gunn told her. 'Willow there did most of the heavy lifting' he told his friend, pointing out the exhausted looking red-haired witch who gave Cordelia a smile and a little wave. 'The bitch that had set up shop inside you didn't want to go without a fight but Darth Sabrina here put the smackdown on her good' he declared.

Angel managed to break away from the hug and turned to Willow. 'You put my soul back and you've saved my friend' he said seriously. 'If you ever need anything from me' he told her, 'and I mean _anything_, I'll be there' he told her with all the earnestness he could muster.

'Technically it's the _second_ time I've put your soul back but who's counting' Willow told him with an endearing smile which Angel returned with a look that told her he was deadly serious about owing her.

Fred swept in and took Angels place in the hug. 'We missed you' she said. 'Of course we _did_ think we already had you back, but when we found out we really hadn't we missed you again' she said. 'We _all_ owe you Willow' she said, which caused Gunn to nod his agreement emphatically.

'Just glad I could help' Willow told them embarrassed by the praise. She was also blushing slightly, her cheeks starting to match her hair colour which had only just changed back to its normal shade from jet-black minutes before. When the witch was in full-on magicks mode her appearance left no doubts about it. 'I don't know if I'd have had the power to pull it off if the pregnancy had been much further along' she admitted. 'I could feel it was in a weakened condition even though it was still tough.'

'I'm just making sure not to mess with any girls from Sunnydale' Gunn said tongue in cheek. 'I thought they raised 'em tough in my neighbourhood but _damn_.'

'Wait until you've seen Buffy pissed-off' Cordelia told him with a laugh. 'So who was the blue chick that bitchslapped me?' she asked. 'It looked a lot like you Fred but the thing inside new it wasn't' she said.

'You remember all of that?' Angel asked her curiously.

'I remember everything' Cordelia told him. 'It was like being an observer in my own body with someone else at the wheel' she told him. 'Is Wesley around too?' she asked, her smile slipping. 'I need to talk to him' she said quietly.

Fred gave her a kiss on the forehead. 'If it's about Lilah' she began, 'Wesley knows that wasn't really you' she told her.

'It was my hand holding the knife' Cordelia replied, 'I tried not to do it' she said plaintively, 'I tried.'

'He's not here, he's in Sunnydale with Illyria' Angel told her. 'She's the "Blue Chick" you met briefly before she knocked you out. She was also the one that caught Angelus' he explained.

'Higher-Power?' Cordy asked. 'A nice one I mean?'

Fred looked thoughtful. 'Maybe more of a Lower-Power, and I wouldn't go so far as to say "Nice" exactly either' she considered.

'Like I said I got a distinct impression of recognition before the lights went out' Cordelia told them. 'Followed by a feeling of shock, panic and then for the briefest moment a _very_ painful jaw' she said.

'Illyria is an Old One' Willow explained. 'A demon God-King from the time before… well pretty much everything else' she told Cordelia.

Cordelia frowned. 'Why'd she look like Fred?' she asked.

'Long story which also includes time-travel, me becoming the CEO of Wolfram and Hart, Gunn becoming a Lawyer and Lottery tickets' Angel told her. 'We're still trying to piece it all together ourselves' he admitted.

'Lottery tickets?' Cordy asked in confusion.

'Oh yeah we're rich' Gunn announced giving her a thumbs-up. 'Lorne's gone to buy a crate of champagne' he told her 'otherwise he'd be here to see you too. He was hoping to get back with it before you woke up.'

'We're rich?' Cordelia asked as her eyes narrowed. 'How rich?' she wanted to know.

'Enough to keep you in Blue Boxes for the rest of your life' Angel joked.

Cordy pinched herself. 'Ouch' she moaned. 'For a second there I thought I was back in heaven' she joked.

'You were in Heaven?' Fred asked.

'Or something like it' Cordy replied.

Gunn looked at her 'What's it like?'

'Eternal bliss? A heck of a lot more boring than you'd think' Cordelia answered. 'Nice for a visit but I'm not sure you'd want to move in long term' she opined.

Willow looked confused. 'When we accidentally "rescued" Buffy from Heaven she was distraught about it' she remembered.

'Either it's a franchise and there's more than one of them or Buffy has low expectations of what constitutes paradise' Cordelia responded. 'So what's been happening back in Sunnydale?' she queried.

'Imminent apocalypse' Willow summarised neatly.

Cordelia nodded her head. 'Nothing ever changes much back in the old hometown' she responded. 'Hang on it's still only April right?' she realised. 'May is armageddon season, I used to write it off in my social calendar every year' she recollected.

'Hey I thought I was the only one that noticed that' Willow said brightly.

'Are you kidding?' Cordelia replied. 'After the first few even Xander must have cottoned on.'

Gunn looked at Angel. 'What the heck are they talking about?' he asked.

Angel shrugged. 'It's a Sunnydale thing' he told him. 'Trust me, fighting demons in LA is the quiet life' he told him.

'Yeah? So why are _we_ going there?' Gunn wanted to know.

'Because they'd come here to help _us_' Angel pointed out, nodding towards Willow. 'Anyhow me and the First Evil have a history' he said darkly.

'We're going to Sunnydale?' Cordelia asked.

Angel shook his head. 'You should stay here and rest' he told her.

'To hell with that' Cordy snapped back. 'We all go or none of us do' she told him flatly. 'Where's Connor anyhow?' she asked.

'Locked in the cage downstairs' Angel told her. 'We were hoping you could explain the real story to him. He doesn't seem to trust us, well not me anyway so we've had to protect him from himself' he said. 'And us from him' he added redundantly.

Cordy nodded sadly. 'I'll talk him around' she agreed.

'Use his gender against him' Fred suggested. 'Tell him if he comes with us to Sunnydale there's a houseful of teenage girls who'd just love to meet an eighteen year old guy who fights demons. _And_ there's more things to kill there than he's ever imagined' she added.

Cordelia nodded. 'Sex and violence' she said mulling it over 'Yeah that'll work.'

'Ya know if you'd mentioned about the house full of teenage girls earlier' Gunn began, 'I'd have never asked why we were going' he told everyone. 'In fact I'd already be half-way there' he said.

Fred punched him on the arm.

**Wolfram and Hart Building – Los Angeles – April 2003**

'I can't believe they've nearly rebuilt this place so soon' Angel said in wonderment. 'The Beast tore this building apart.'

Gunn nodded agreement. 'Yeah even cleaning up the bits of zombies should have taken them longer than this' he concurred, following Angel inside into the main lobby which was already a hive of activity, even though it was past sundown. Some of the floors were still being redecorated he guessed from the building contractors working overtime who had stepped out of the elevator ahead.

Everyone looked at the vampire as he stepped up to the reception desk. Nervous whispers started throughout the area as a few of the lawyers and other staff began to make themselves scarce. The receptionist looked pretty concerned herself.

'Tell the bossman, whoever it is now, that Angel would like a word' he told the receptionist. 'He'll know who I am.'

'Not so much a man' a woman told him getting out of a private elevator. 'And only temporarily the boss until they get someone permanent' she said. 'I heard from a seer on the third floor you were on your way' she explained looking him over.

'Lilah' Angel said in surprise. 'Now I'm pretty sure you're dead' he added, returning the favour and looking her over in response.

The lawyer smiled. 'Wolfram and Hart Contracts hold on to your services a tiny bit longer than your standard employment agreement' she told him. 'No Wesley?' she asked.

Angel shook his head. 'Busy elsewhere' he told her extremely glad of the fact. Seeing the dead former lover he'd decapitated walking around again would not have exactly been pleasant for poor old Wes.

'So what are you here for?' Lilah asked, crossing her arms.

'We want the amulet' Angel told her. 'We know you know about The First Evil and you've got the thing so hand it over' he instructed her.

'No idea what you're talking about' Lilah told him flatly, tapping her foot then looking at her wristwatch. 'I've got a meeting early tomorrow morning and I need my beauty sleep so take yourself and your merry men back to Sherwood and play with your arrows or something' she retorted.

Angel sighed. 'I don't have time for your games' he told her. 'Just bring me the amulet and I'll be on my way' he continued. 'Hey I'll even be out of town a while so you can have LA to yourself for a few days, maybe even weeks' he said. 'Come on you've _got_ to love that idea. Free reign over the city without me around being a pain in the ass, don't tell me that doesn't make your corpse tingle all over?'

Lilah threw him a vicious smile and a look that would have cut through steel plate. 'Nope still not doing it for me' she told him. 'Now if Wesley was here… well he _always_ managed to do it for me, usually more than once' she added smugly, a smirk forming.

'Why isn't anything ever easy?' Angel said to nobody in particular. 'Okay let's stop jerking around' he said. 'I'm leaving with the amulet and we can do this the easy way or the hard way' he declared loudly so everyone in the lobby could hear.

Lilah's smirk grew more intense. 'You can't take all the guards in this building and even if you could we've got mystics, warlocks and necromancers that could feed you your own entrails' she stated with a condescending air.

'Mystics?' Angel repeated. 'Well I guess, what with not being so big with the magicks myself, I'm in way over my head' he said, looking Lilah straight in the eyes then smirking himself.

The double doors behind Angel leading to the street suddenly crashed inwards as if struck by an invisible wrecking ball. The air became charged with electricity and a young woman floated inside, her feet at least a foot off the ground and her body surrounded by bolts of lightning. Her hair was black as coal as were her eyes. She looked down at Lilah as she approached. 'Give us the amulet' she commanded in an unnatural booming voice that shook the windows in their frames.

'In case you hadn't figured it out' Gunn addressed Lilah whilst indicating Willow, '_that's_ the hard way' he pointed out to her helpfully.


	8. Chapter 8

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

**Graveyard – Sunnydale – April 2003**

'That's the fastest dead white guy I've ever seen' Rona observed placidly as the vampire went running past, head down, legs pumping for all its worth and emitting a sort of desperate, continual wailing noise which doppler-shifted like the siren of a Fire-Truck as it crossed their path. 'We get that dude to Athens next year, run the ten thousand metres at night, US Gold Medal for sure' she told the other potentials.

'Blue's gaining though' Kennedy noted as Illyria tore past in hot pursuit of the athletically gifted and demonically animated corpse.

'They'd never let her run the men's events' Rona replied. 'Hell she'd have trouble with the medical exam to qualify for the women's' she pointed out. 'There's no way whatever flows through those veins isn't going to flag up some _serious_ questions at the dope test.'

Amanda nodded her agreement. 'And the needle would bend when they tried to take the blood sample. Somebody has _got_ to notice that kind of thing' she reasoned.

Buffy tried to maintain a professional air. 'If she chases it back this way somebody trip it up and put a stake in it' she told the potentials tersely. 'We're supposed to be training here' she declared authoritatively.

'I thought there was supposed to be a nest around here?' Faith asked loudly, finally arriving on scene.

Buffy looked at her watch. 'You're half an hour late' she chided.

'I was busy' Faith replied, casually leaning back against an ornate tomb.

'Doing what?' Buffy asked. 'Or should I ask "who" instead?' she added sarcastically.

Faith smirked. 'Just 'cause a girl's just got out of prison doesn't mean she's going to jump the first guy that she meets' she said. 'Anyhow the "who" was Wesley and he was giving me a _different_ kind of present' she continued. 'Most guys tell you it's so many inches long but I'll say this for Wes the boy doesn't exaggerate' Faith told the group grinning. 'Check this out' she said and held out her right arm.

With a flash of steel in the moonlight a collapsible sword shot out from the sleeve of Faith's leather jacket, unfolded and locked itself into place with a metallic clinking sound. It was at least a yard long when fully extended. 'Tell me you don't want one of these for yourself' the slayer said to Buffy and the potentials.

'I prefer the basics to gimmicks' Buffy told her, pretending unconvincingly not to be having covetous thoughts for the James Bond style weaponry.

'I'll take one' Kennedy said quickly. 'That thing is cool' she continued imagining the expression on the face on the first vamp that jumped the apparently unarmed teenager and suddenly found itself looking at a wicked looking blade that came from nowhere.

Faith chuckled. 'Sorry Wesley only had the two and he's keeping the other one' she told them. 'Ask nicely and he might see about getting more made I suppose' she continued, folding the sword back into position. It was bulky on her forearm but the jacket hid it pretty well. All she needed now was one of those mini-harpoon guns he had on the other arm, and maybe a car with an ejector seat she thought, smiling to herself.

Illyria returned holding the struggling vampire, one hand over its mouth to prevent it making that annoying noise any more. 'I was going to kill this halfbreed for its temerity in making me run so far to catch it' she told Buffy, 'but I thought it might be useful to your training of the slayer potentials' she said. 'I can break one of its legs so it cannot easily escape while they hunt it' she suggested amiably. 'It is unusually swift for its kind.'

'Okay' Buffy said to the group. 'Who hasn't fought a vamp yet? Raise your hands don't be embarrassed.'

More than half the potentials raised one arm sheepishly.

'Faith you watch over them, I'll take the others to the next graveyard to see if I can find some more' Buffy told the other slayer who nodded her compliance. B was the boss here and despite her occasional bouts of insolence Faith was perfectly happy with the arrangement.

Buffy gave Illyria the nod who then snapped one of the vampires legs with a vicious move and a cringe inducing sound before releasing it. It moaned, snarled then started to limp away rapidly like its afterlife depended upon it which of course it did. Two slayers and a supernaturally strong blue demon chick were well out of its league and it knew it.

'It's still stronger than you, it's got better senses and faster reaction times' Faith told her assigned group. 'Don't get hurt and don't take foolish risks for the kill' she told them then paused and crossed her arms. 'So what are you waiting for?' she asked loudly. 'Go get it.'

Buffy watched the unblooded potentials, or should that be undusted she wondered, charge off in pursuit of the crippled vampire stakes in hand, with the other slayer trotting behind to keep a close eye on them. Faith the trusted Lieutenant, who'd have ever thought? Buffy considered wondrously.

'I am sorry for eliminating the other halfbreeds' Illyria told Buffy. 'I was bored with letting them attack me unpunished and it was they who foolishly initiated the combat to begin with' she explained.

'That's okay, we all get carried away sometimes' Buffy told the God-King. 'Coming along?' she asked.

Illyria shook her head. 'I will patrol to the west then return to your home at dawn to prepare for work tomorrow' she replied.

'Must be useful not needing to sleep' Buffy observed.

The Shaper of Things nodded. 'I do seem to be able to achieve far more in a given 24 hour period than you humans' she confirmed. 'The Wolf, Ram and Hart have a technique, partially medical, partially mystical, that would remove your need to sleep too but its effects on certain psyches can be highly damaging' Illyria noted. 'I would advise against developing a similar system, or at least not utilising it in the long term. Humans sometimes seem barely sane as it is' she added turning to leave. 'Farewell for now Slayer' she said striding off.

**Sunnydale Highschool – April 2003**

'So why is your hair blue?' the girl asked sarcastically.

'The same reason yours is blond' the new teaching assistant replied, 'because I colour it' she lied. The truth would have been a lot less believable.

The girl looked mortified. 'I don't colour my hair!' she claimed stridently.

Illyria looked at her. 'Please' she drawled back in her Texan accent. 'If that hair's not suicide blond I'm a mailbox' she retorted.

'Suicide blond?' another girl queried, not having heard the phrase before.

'Dyed by her own hand' Illyria explained. It was a line from Cordelia the shell remembered and made the class laugh almost as much as it had Fred when she'd heard it. The girl in question directed a glare at Illyria who ignored it, the youth had been trying to get one up on the new TA with a series of snide remarks but had now been put firmly in her place. It was a battle of wills and Illyria made it her business never to lose a battle no matter how trivial.

'Where's Mr Jenkins?' a boy asked.

'He's fetching some of your graded assignments from his car, he will be here presently' Illyria replied. 'In the meantime I am told you still have to finish your write-ups of last week's experiments' she continued. 'If any of you need any help with the work please let me know...'

A dozen hands shot upwards.

'…and I will arrange remedial tuition for after school' Illyria finished her sentence.

A dozen hands snapped back down even faster.

'I do not see you working' the God-King in disguise declared, looking around the classroom, her dominion for today. 'I have already put three students into detention from earlier in the day and have no reason not to add to the list because I'm already stuck here after school tonight anyway' she told them. 'You have your tasks get on with them' she instructed the students, leaning back against the teacher's desk at the front of the classroom.

As it turned out Principal Wood had been correct in his assessment that the students were "running rings around" the Science Teacher Mr Jenkins. Illyria had therefore quickly moved to end that situation. Even though the job was merely a cover story she took it as seriously as she did any other task and would certainly not countenance dissent or disobedience from a group of mere human children. They were here to learn and they were darn well going to, the God-King decided.

Fortunately the adoption of the mannerisms along with _most_ of the appearance of Winifred Burkle enabled her to adopt the tried and tested iron fist in the velvet glove technique. Certainly the fact she knew she was a darn sight more physically attractive, and _looked_ a lot younger, than most of the other staff, would probably help with hormonal teenage boys she reasoned.

The hellmouth seal beneath them continued to spew out malevolence from under its concrete lid, a force which Illyria could feel gnawing at the edge of her psyche and which affected the unconscious minds of everyone else. At lunch she had broken up a fight that just erupted from nowhere, her sensitivity to human emotional states giving her a prior warning it was about to start. The sight of the new slight young TA hauling one of the Football Team off another and then holding them apart had undoubtedly caused a stir amongst both students and faculty despite the fact she made it look a _lot_ more effort than it actually was. She treated this situation as another part of an ongoing campaign against the first and as one of her new favoured writers Sun Tzu put it "All warfare is based on deception".

The First was of course still far from finished in it's manoeverings. It was gathering its forces to launch a far greater scale offensive than it had ever bothered to plan or assemble in the original timeline. However its opposition this time was also far beyond what it had been before and both sides were now racing to reach a relative peak of superiority compared to the other.

Through Illyria of course the First's enemies now had a perhaps unassailable advantage, 'Know your enemy and know yourself and in a thousand battles your victory will never be endangered' as Sun Tzu had also written. The God-King had made very sure before coming back here that she was "big with the knowledge" as some of her new associates might have put it.

Both sides were racing to reinforce but the First was at a tactical and strategic disadvantage with its local forces severely weakened and the bulk of its Bringer troops scattered around the globe, where they had been hunting for potentials and the remnants of the Watchers Council. Already Bringers were being recalled from elsewhere in North America and even from overseas but they would take some time to get to Sunnydale.

Everything was shaping up very nicely for the Shaper of Things.

**Summers Residence – Sunnydale - April 2003**

'There's a vampire at the door' Dawn yelled. 'He wants to be invited in' she told her big sister.

'You know the rules Dawn' Buffy called back. 'Remember the time you invited Harmony inside?'

Dawn shrugged. 'Sorry rules are rules' she told Angel. 'No bloodsucking fiends allowed indoors after dark… well except for Spike' she added, sticking her tongue firmly in her cheek. The mention of Spikes name caused Angel to flinch slightly which just made it funnier.

'Buffy!' Angel said loudly. 'Your little sister's being a pain in the ass' he declared, trying to maintain a scowl by ignoring the expression on Dawn's face.

'It's her gift' Buffy told him, appearing next to Dawn. 'You know the invite still stands from before' she reminded him with a smile of welcome.

Angel nodded. 'I was just being polite' he said, stepping inside. 'But if she didn't tell me to come in within the next thirty seconds I was going to throw her present in the garbage' he added, handing Dawn a small box.

'Time was you just used to give me ten bucks and send me to the cinema to get rid of me' Dawn remarked, opening the box. 'Earrings' she announced. 'Nice ones' she said happily already thinking about which of her outfits they would go best with.

'Those clothes, knows about women's jewellery, minces around like a male model,' a mans voice with a British accent commented from inside the house. 'Anne Rice writes vampires who are less gay than you' it said.

Angel grimaced. 'Spike' he said, greeting the other vampire coldly.

'Poofter' Spike responded sardonically.

'So I hear you've got a soul now?' Angel said to him. 'If I jumped off a cliff would you do that too?' he asked in an equally sarcastic tone to Spikes.

'Nah' Spike replied. 'I'd just laugh' he said. 'Maybe take some pictures though, something to laugh at again later.'

Cordelia pushed past Angel. 'And putting the testosterone waving contest away again until the inevitable rematch later tonight, and likely for the rest of their immortal lives' she began, 'it's surprisingly nice to see you again Buffy' she said warmly, giving a slightly taken aback Buffy a hug and a kiss on the cheek. 'Dawn you've grown' she continued with a smile. 'Does Buffy wear _your_ old clothes when you've grown out of them now?' she added with a momentary flash of the old Cordy that once ruled Sunnydale High with an iron fist and an acid tongue.

Angel broke away from the staring contest with Spike that had been going on right through Cordelia's entrance. 'This is Charles Gunn' he said introducing the large black guy who had been hanging back a bit not knowing anyone. He was looking around nervously, the suburbs disturbed him especially after dark. This looked exactly like one of those neighbourhoods you saw on the news where the "such a nice quiet boy" serial killers came from.

'Call me Gunn' he said stepping forward to shake hands with Buffy and Dawn but pointedly not with Spike. 'We've got some stuff to drop off before heading off to Angel's old place to set up camp' he said pointing to the white pick-up parked in the road behind Angel's convertible. 'Anyone available to lend a hand?' he asked.

'I dare say I can be of assistance' Wesley told him, appearing next to Cordelia who immediately grabbed him for a hug. 'Lovely to have you back' he told her hugging back awkwardly, personal space was a big deal for the English. 'The real you especially' he added.

'Nice to have you back too Wes' Cordy told him. 'But if you don't start shaving every day I'm going to do it for you' she joked. 'And I'll be using one of Angel's rustier broadswords' she warned.

'None of my broadswords are rusty' Angel protested.

'Yeah I'll bet you spend hours alone polishing them in the dark right?' Spike interjected resulting in a scowl from Angel but a laugh from Gunn who clammed up instantly when Angel directed the look his way instead. Dawn was sniggering, ensouled Angel and Spike were going to be a riot together she could tell.

Wesley managed to break free and greeted Gunn with their practiced, almost Freemason-like, "secret" handshake. 'Welcome to Sunnydale' he told his friend. 'Got my back Gunn?' he asked with a grin.

'Always got your back English' Gunn replied, 'and I hope yours is okay because some of those boxes are _heavy_' he cautioned as they walked to his pick-up.

'Any trouble getting the Amulet?' Buffy asked Angel.

Angel shook his head. 'Wolfram and Hart didn't want to give it up this early' he replied, 'but when you get right down to it _they_ don't want the First's apocalypse any more than _we_ do, if only because they want their own at some point' he told her. 'They just wanted our side to take some heavy losses before they helped us out, soften up the good guys so we're less of a threat to the Company' he continued. 'Problem was they'd already paid out a fortune redecorating the LA Offices once in the last few weeks, so when they thought we were going to smash them up again, unless they gave us something they were going to give us eventually anyhow, they cut _their_ losses and just handed it over' he explained. 'Of course Willow making a flashy entrance helped speed up their decision making process some' he added wryly.

Shortly after Wesley and Gunn reached the pick-up and started unloading another vehicle pulled up outside the house, as Willow arrived in her small car with Fred and a less than enthused looking companion. Wesley gave them a wave of greeting and carried on working while they escorted the other up to the house. Gunn was already making snide comments that they were doing the work while the jerks with the super-powers chatted. Wesley replied that they probably needed the exercise more being merely human, but in any case they'd do something nasty to Angel later in revenge. Maybe put some extra-strong chilli-powder in his blood he suggested to Gunn's amusement.

Standing just inside the house Angel made a silent prayer that this would go well. 'Buffy this is my son Connor' he said, indicating the sullen youth standing between the Witch and the Physicist. 'Connor this is Buffy, her sister Dawn… and Spike.'

Dawn whispered to her sister. 'The scowls genetic' she observed. 'Who'd have guessed?'

Spike looked the teenager up and down. 'Takes after Darla most' he commented. 'Thank God for that' he said, dramatically lifting his eyes to the heavens. 'There's already one more neanderthal look-alike with eyebrow ridges in the world than it needs' he declared.

Angel subconsciously reached up to his forehead with a concerned expression on his face before the smirk on Spikes face made him snap his arm back down realising what he was doing.

'Vampire' Connor hissed at Spike. The smell was unmistakable.

'Yeah but _my_ parents were human so who are you to be chucking the racial epithets around junior?' Spike snapped back. 'Guess he lucked out with the looks but the poor bastard got your brains then gramps?' he asked Angel sarcastically.

Connor looked the other two over and gently sniffed the air. The house reeked of teenage girl, which wasn't exactly off-putting by any means, and Buffy's sister was certainly nice to look at too, although his outwardly stern demeanour didn't shift one bit.

'You know it occurs to me' Fred said suddenly, looking around at everyone. 'That seeing as we're in an alternate timeline that Illyria created, and that we know of other dimensions and parallel universes too, that somewhere there's probably a universe where it was Spike that got a soul first and he had a daughter with Drusilla' she theorised.

Angel and Spike both looked at the physicist, simultaneously blinked, paled even more than usual, and then shuddered.

'Connor' Willow began, turning to him. 'You'll never be appreciated more than you are at just this moment' she told him earnestly. 'Might be a good time to ask Dad to get you a car' she suggested.


	9. Chapter 9

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER NINE**

**Summers Residence – Sunnydale – April 2003**

'Okay so what the hell is this crap?' Faith asked, looking at the pile of oversized, though non-descript, crates piled up in the centre of the living room. The potentials were out patrolling with Illyria with Andrew tagging along with his video-camera to film the God-King in action. They were probably safer with the Blue Meanie than if they were being escorted by half of NATO so Buffy didn't mind the opportunity to have a night off from playing nursemaid. The Guardian was back at her pyramid, now once again with front door intact and all entrances reinforced against unwelcome visitors, and Giles was off collecting yet another baby slayer. Xander and Anya were off on a "non-date" whatever that was.

Angel held up a piece of paper. 'We got a list from Illyria, you won't believe what we paid for this stuff to get it at such short notice' he told the slayer before turning to Wesley. 'So how does this Emil guy know you anyhow?' he asked Wes. 'We dropped your name like it said to do on the note and he was a lot more cooperative.'

'You got this from Emil?' Wesley asked curiously, not really knowing what was in the boxes. 'Did you get my discount?' he checked.

'He upped it to ten percent which covered maybe a third of the extra he put on for how fast we wanted it' Gunn complained. 'I guess Blue knew the guy from past dealings, well her past our future… our _other_future' he reasoned.

'Who the fuck is Emil?' Faith demanded to know.

Wesley looked at her. 'Arms dealer' he explained, 'sort of on the darker side of that trade which is saying something' he added. 'He sold me that collapsible sword I gave you amongst other things' he told the slayer who looked at her sleeve.

'You gave her one of those funky-ass swords?' Gunn responded in slightly annoyed tones. 'How come you never got me one of those?' he asked.

Wesley smirked. 'You just don't fill out a top the way she does' he replied which also prompted Faith to stick out her tongue at him. 'Anyhow you're better with an axe and they just don't fold down into something you can wear up your sleeve' he pointed out. 'Can I read the list?' he asked, holding out his hand to take it as Angel passed it to him. He started reading the list and swallowed. 'Do you know what this stuff is?' he asked with mild concern.

'Got some vague ideas but it's more your field than mine' Angel admitted. 'You're the only person I know that subscribes to both _Archaeology Today_ and _Guns and Ammo_.'

'Guessing not archaeological relics though?' Buffy said, looking at the boxes. 'Going to show us what you've got in there?' she asked the ex-watcher,

Gunn passed Wesley a Crowbar which he used to pry open a crate. Everyone looked inside.

'Would I be correct in assuming that the Second Amendment would _not_ cover ownership of that thing if the police walked into my house right now?' Buffy asked rhetorically as Wesley picked the thing up with an expression somewhere between shock and joy.

Wesley nodded. 'Although private ownership of firearms is a lot less restrictive here than back home' he began. 'I doubt the authorities would look too kindly on you having a grenade-launcher in your living room' he continued reasonably, hefting the oversized weapon from the crate to show it to everyone.

'That's definitely you' Dawn told him as he handed the thing over to Gunn. 'You know Xander and Cordelia once stole a rocket-launcher from the local Army Base and Buffy blew a big demon to itty bitty chunks with it' she told him. 'The Grenade Launcher is really sort of a comedown after that' she said apologetically.

'The difference is we can make up special stake rounds, attach them to 40 millimetre shell-casings and blow a hole in a Turok'Hans chest at a thirty yards, or a normal vampire a lot further away' Wesley replied. 'Hell it'll throw a grenade well over four-hundred yards if you fire it like artillery.' he told her. 'The muzzle velocity would be far higher than a crossbow bolt and you could have steel-cored stakes for extra momentum and structural strength' he explained. 'I always considered this but they were so damned expensive, even ignoring the illegality. I wonder if Illyria read my diaries?' he asked nobody in particular. He certainly hoped not, some of the entries would make him sound insane and others were X-Rated.

Gunn was playing with the thing which was mercifully unloaded. It was sort of like a big revolver or one of those tear-gas launchers you saw the LAPD use sometimes. Had a nice comfortable weight to it too but he'd bet the recoil was fierce.

Wesley opened another crate and pulled out a metal cylinder a bit bigger than a can of beans. 'Bloody hell' he swore. 'She _has_ read my diaries' he said with rising concern. 'They call these things "Willie Pete" in the Army' he said holding it up, 'nasty in the extreme.'

'Willie Pete?' Buffy wanted to know, looking at the dull grey can.

Wesley sighed. 'White Phosphorous' he explained. 'It's an anti-personnel incendiary grenade. This thing goes off and those of us that lived through the explosion would have little chunks of burning molten metal eating through our flesh all the way to the bone' he told them. 'Vampires wouldn't enjoy it any more than us mortals so they'd be better than concussion or fragmentation grenades in our line of work' he said.

'This stuff came from your diaries?' Faith asked bemusedly. 'Couldn't you just write filth like a normal person?' she continued not realising that he did that as well. 'Anything else? Germ warfare? Poison gas?' she asked.

Wesley shook his head. 'No point' he replied. 'Vampires don't need to breathe and no self-respecting virus or bacteria will set up shop in them' he explained redundantly. 'Most of the other stuff on the list is pretty regular' he told them, reading it through. 'Shotguns, assault-rifles, some handguns… and hey there's something useful, night-vision gear' he spotted, 'image intensifiers not infra-red of course' he said.

'Because vampires don't show up well as heat' Dawn responded getting a smile and nod from Wesley. 'Do they make everything look shades of green like in the movies because that would look awesome?' she asked.

'I could easily get used to this having money thing' Wesley said happily, picking up a grenade launcher of his own, unfolding the stock and sighting along the barrel. 'Just holding it makes me want to blow something up' he announced enthusiastically.

'You're a very disturbing person sometimes Wesley' Cordelia told him seriously. Then saw the expression on Angel's face when Gunn passed the other Launcher onto him. 'Boys with toys' she declared. 'Two hundred plus years and apparently they _still_ don't grow up' she complained.

Spike reached out to take the grenade launcher from Angel who refused to let it go. 'Get your own' Angel told him as they started to wrestle for it like two little kids fighting over a model car.

'Don't make me lock that thing away so neither of you can play with it' Buffy told them sternly. 'And don't think pouting will help' she added. 'You share nicely Angel, give Spike a turn' she told them, fighting back the laughter which soon turned to horror as she realised she'd actually slept with _both_ of these "berks" as Giles would have put it. They were acting like they were twelve or something and she couldn't help but think that reflected badly on her.

Reading the situation wisely Gunn decided not to ask Connor if he wanted to play hide and seek outside with the night-vision goggles. Angels' son was already looking at a pair with some interest and Wesley had shown him how to turn them on. 'You guys are making the rest of us look bad' he told Angel and Spike, shaking his head sadly.

'Nietzsche wrote that true maturity is rediscovering the seriousness one had as a child at play' Wesley responded, putting his grenade launcher down then sitting down on the floor to start opening crates like they were Christmas presents. 'Oh… Heckler and Koch G36K's now _that's_ a quality rifle' he said happily, opening the crate they were in. 'You'll love these' he told Gunn. 'They use them as props in Sci-Fi films all the time because they look all high-tech and futuristic' he told him then paused. 'Did you remember to bring the flame-thrower?' he asked.

'You bought a flame-thrower from this arms dealer too?' Buffy asked Angel.

'No need' Angel told her. 'We already had one' he said.

'He who dies with the best toys wins?' Spike asked sarcastically. 'You always were a nerd' he told Angel.

Angel looked at Spike askance. 'He who fights with the best toys wins and doesn't die' he replied. 'They had this thing called the Industrial Revolution a few years back and I try to keep with the times' he told him. 'I see from the hairstyle you're just caught up with the late nineteen-seventies' he observed. 'Should we expect the Miami-Vice look in a few years if you're planning to stay thirty years out of date fashion wise Spikey?'

Spikes left eye twitched. 'Ponce' he retorted.

'Very mature' Angel replied with a superior tone and made a mark on his mental scoreboard. The funny thing was even when they'd both been soulless vampires carving a swathe across Europe the two had still verbally, and sometimes physically, sparred just like this. The personality clash was entirely unrelated to either demon, or soul, they just rubbed each other up the wrong way at a far more basic level than that. The current tension between them regarding Buffy, who to Angel's chagrin had had some form of relationship with Spike, was just another chapter in an ongoing epic of mutual dislike and competition. If they both went on another thousand years they'd still bait each other at every opportunity and they knew it.

Buffy could only be hope that their rivalry would have beneficial results in that it would drive each of them to outdo the other in fighting for the team. She wasn't above manipulating them to that end either, being a lot more goal orientated than she'd been only a couple of years before. The slayer was harder now than ever, two deaths, being ripped from heaven, her mothers' death and a slew of apocalypses had gradually started to leach out some of her softer side, it was still there in terms of her love for friends and family but she had a darker edge now and she kept it very keen.

Spike handed Angel back the grenade launcher which the latter had reluctantly surrendered at Buffy's insistence. 'You need something to compensate with more than me anyhow' Spike told him with a sneer.

A forlorn Faith looked over to Willow who was watching events placidly. 'You know this lesbian thing you're into these days is looking better by the second because these guys are about the coolest ones I know and that's like so... off-putting right now' she said sadly, looking from the bickering Angel and Spike onto Wesley and Gunn sat on the floor playing merrily with unloaded automatic rifles like they were toys. One of them was going to start making noises like a machine-gun any second she just knew it. Cordy was thoroughly disgusted by all of them too judging from her expression. Fred meanwhile was too busy reading the manual for one of the night-vision goggles to care and was more accepting of geeky male behaviour anyway thanks to a background in physics, most of her fellow students had been total nerds anyhow.

'Like I told Xander before I can't actually "Gay you up" on demand' Willow told Faith apologetically. 'I could give you some of our literature though. I might be carrying one of our pamphlets' she joked.

Faith sighed. 'Always after the quick fix that ain't there' she said sadly. 'I'll just have to find one who's not already a lost cause and train him up right' she stated. 'Ain't gonna be you junior' she quickly told Connor who had looked over intrigued.

The pout was apparently genetic too.

**Seal of Danzalthar – Sunnydale High – April 2003**

The half dozen Bringers sensed, so much as looked blindly at the concrete lid that had been poured over the Seal and then hefted their pickaxes. This was going to hard work especially for something wearing a heavy cowl that could only dump excess heat by panting with a mouth that lacked the tongue to make panting actually worthwhile in the first place. If they were capable of questioning their master most of them would have wondered why they couldn't have a more practical dress-code and maybe even the ability to sweat whilst going through manual labour.

It was so much easier doing this when they only had to dig up a couple of feet of loose dirt. They couldn't even sing a work-song as they began to swing their pickaxes.

They didn't get very far into the work when they were interrupted by a polite cough and they turned towards the person watching them.

'I'm not aware I gave anyone permission to be here on school property tonight' Robin Wood told them in his official capacity as Principal of the school. 'Can I ask you to leave?' he added, hefting a very large sword in his unofficial capacity as a free-lance vampire hunter and general pain in evil's ass.

The half dozen Bringers raised their pickaxes threateningly.

'I'm afraid we have to insist' Wood continued dispassionately.

The Bringers were not happy with the "we" comment one bit. It sounded more than a touch ominous, and as their full title of "Harbingers of Death" indicated, Bringers knew ominous when they heard it.

A dozen teenage girls carrying an assortment of both blunt and heavy, and sharp and pointy objects appeared en-masse from the other direction. Many of the potentials had been fleeing for their lives from the Bringers; some had even seen their watchers torn to pieces trying to defend them and to say they were out for revenge was a major understatement of their current mood.

Illyria leading in the potentials nodded a greeting to Principal Wood who returned the gesture. 'Sorry guys' he told the Bringers. 'But they'll smash you up a whole lot worse than I was planning to do' he advised them 'and I'm in no mood not to let them' he added.

'God I love outnumbering these pricks for once' Kennedy declared, looking down at her spiked baseball bat with what would have been a very concerning expression for a nearby Bringer if he had any imagination at all.

'Payback's a bitch boys' Amanda told the Harbingers. 'And so are we' she said with an evil smile, holding up a vicious looking short-sword that caught the light impressively.

Telepathically linked the Bringers simultaneously leaped to the attack using their clumsy pickaxes as weapons and then things got very unpleasant for them very quickly. The mayhem was very pleasing to watch Illyria considered slightly annoyed that the battery had already run out on Andrew's video-Camera so he couldn't record it for later review. The boy himself had made his excuses not wanting to watch either.

They were already becoming effective warriors the God-King noted with satisfaction as they fought. Once they were activated with their slayer strength they would be as formidable a force as any demon clan of this world, or most others for that matter she decided. The Wolf, Ram and Hart would tremble before such an army the Illyria thought gleefully.

Robin Wood was rather less contented at watching a group of girls who were the age of his students beat and hack the intruders to death, but he was the son of a slayer himself and knew the business. The potentials were just doing their job and if they seemed to be enjoying it a tad more than was healthy he put that down to youthful enthusiasm and an entirely human desire for vengeance against the forces that had been trying to murder them.

Splattered with blood a potential raised her sword and howled in victory as the last enemy fell, soon joined by the others, the slaughtered Bringers laying broken and bloody at their feet.

'Excellent' Illyria praised them. 'I will arrange for you all to have a day at the Mall tomorrow' she announced. 'The half-breed Angel will provide you with spending money from his lottery winnings so you can enjoy yourselves' she continued. Soldiers should be rewarded and encouraged in their successes as much as they should be punished for their failures. It was only common-sense and good practice.

Wood watched Illyria and the girls. He had the disturbing revelation that he was looking at the future and the future was drowning in blood. On the other hand, in his mind it was the other side doing most of the bleeding so it wasn't necessarily a bad thing just an incredibly violent one.

The First meanwhile watched unobserved from the shadows. This was about the worst thing that could have possibly ever happened. It had taken a nudge from an Old One but it actually looked like the opposition might be starting to remake the rules themselves and they were going to play hardball from now on not their restrictive, limited game-plans of the past.

Your enemies' enemy is your friend, the First decided and putting necessity before pride it opted to go see the Senior Partners. They needed to put a stop to this crap quickly before it built up momentum, and if that meant forming a Grand Alliance, and postponing the apocalypse for a while, it was worth it to prevent the far worse prospect of total defeat. The various factions would have to hang together on this one or the damn slayers and their own allies would surely hang them separately.

It was time to mobilise for total war. This went beyond mere apocalypse, armageddon was coming.


	10. Chapter 10

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER TEN**

**Crawford Street Mansion – Sunnydale – April 2003**

'You really own this place?' Gunn asked looking around. It looked abandoned but was still very spacious and the décor was pretty good.

Angel nodded. 'It wasn't too expensive and never worth selling on afterwards because of the property prices in this town being the way they are' he explained. 'I used to ask Buffy to drop in occasionally in case any vamps or other undesirables moved in but it looks pretty much the same as when I left, right down to the chains' he said, rattling them.

'Every good home needs restraints' Wesley observed dryly. 'I've been coming over here to tidy up a bit the last few days the electricity and plumbing are working and there's food, blood and beer in the fridge' he told everyone.

'Someday you'll make somebody a very good housekeeper Wesley' Cordelia told him. 'Or perhaps a butler would be more your speed?' she wondered.

Wesley straightened up. 'Shall I tell Ms. Summers than we shall be expecting her presence for luncheon tomorrow Milady?' he asked Cordelia stiffly and completely deadpan. 'We will be serving a very nice microwave pizza accompanied by a really quite sublime bottle of AB Negative that will surely tickle the palate of the most discerning vampire.'

Cordelia turned to Angel. 'Honestly you just can't find good help these days' she complained in her most snooty accent. 'Anybody with any sort of upbringing at all knows it's always Rhesus-Positive Blood with microwave pizza. I mean what next, passing the Port to the right?' she asked dispairingly.

Gunn was looking around. 'How many rooms you got?' he asked curiously.

'It's not exactly the Hyperion but it's a decent size' Angel told him. 'I've suggested Faith and some of the Potentials move in here too to free up some more room at Buffy's place' he told his crew. 'We can protect them and it gives us another base to operate from.'

'It will be nice not to be sleeping in the car any more' Wesley told everyone, 'even if I'm only swapping it for a mattress on the floor.'

'You've got a mattress?' Gunn protested. 'I've just got an army-surplus sleeping bag and the hardest looking patch of floor I've ever seen. And I used to bed down on cement regularly' he complained.

'I _did_ have a claim on the only intact bed until ten minutes ago' Wesley replied. 'But I got voted off by the Cordelia/Winifred alliance.'

Gunn's eyebrows rose. 'They sharing?' he asked. 'So are there pillow fights, and maybe a hidden camera involved… and I'll stop right there because I don't like the way Cordy is moving towards that box with the big sword resting on top of it' he added quickly.

Angel frowned. 'It's my place why don't_ I_ get the bed?' he wanted to know.

Fred looked at Cordelia. 'He's still not as whipped as the other two' she said. 'We need to work on that' she continued darkly.

They both glared at Angel who flinched. 'The bed's yours' he quickly relented. 'You know sometimes I think that those subservient Eighteenth Century girls weren't quite as unappealing as I've made out' he muttered quietly to himself. They might faint at the first sight of danger but at least they wouldn't steal your bed out from under you he considered.

'You're not planning to sleep with that grenade-launcher are you English?' Gunn joked. 'I always thought you were a pump-action kinda guy… the shotgun I mean' he explained.

Wesley ignored the innuendo, plus the temptations of the forty-millimetre minx that was stowed in a nearby crate. It actually felt very good to be back with the gang after the last few awkward months and the teasing and joking seemed so natural it was almost like he'd never been away, almost but not quite. The scar on his throat was a constant reminder and he couldn't ever really completely put away the sense of abandonment he still felt. On the other hand this felt good, natural, five by five as Faith would say. The whole crew was here along with Buffy's "Scoobies" and they were going to rip evil a new one as the latter-day Colonials might put it.

Add in the prospect of actually getting some proper financial backing at last, and perhaps even a decent wage, and all in all it was a rewarding career Wesley thought. 'I'm going to make some hot chocolate before I hit the sack' he told everyone. 'Would any of you care to join me?' he asked.

'I'll take some' Connor said from the position he'd taken, sitting on the floor leaning against the wall by the fireplace. He hadn't been talking much but he didn't seem quite as morose now as he had been earlier back in LA, though he had been temporarily annoyed to learn he wasn't going to get to meet all the Potentials until tomorrow. 'Got any marshmallows?' he asked, trying to avoid looking anywhere near Cordelia. He accepted it had been some wretched demonic thing that had been possessing her during their "affair", such as it was, and that their "child" wasn't really anything of the sort, but what the brain knew and the heart felt were entirely different things. All he really wanted to do was beat seven shades of shit out of the first demon, or demons, he ran into. Occupational therapy for Demon Hunters they might call it, it would certainly be cathartic at least.

'Sorry no marshmallows' Wesley replied apologetically. 'We don't tend to have them with hot-chocolate back home like you do here so I forgot to get any.'

'We'll pick some up tomorrow' Angel told Connor. 'Maybe you could get some new clothes at the Mall too' he suggested, looking at his sons less than dazzling attire. 'Something black maybe?' he suggested. 'It goes with anything' he said.

Connor looked his father over. 'Yeah, because if I dressed like my Dad that wouldn't be creepy at _all_' he replied sarcastically. 'Maybe I could get some hair gel too?'

Okay so he wasn't particularly homicidal right now but he was still a teenager Angel considered. Why couldn't he have come back on his twentieth birthday so they could miss out the damn attitude completely?

**Crawford Street Mansion – Sunnydale – April 2003**

The next morning Wesley found himself the last one awake which was unusual but there were various sullen faces as the gang, except Angel of course, got ready to head out to a diner.

'Get a visitor last night?' Wesley asked sympathetically.

'The First dropped in to say hello' Angel told him. 'It's still as big an asshole as ever' he stated grimly.

Gunn looked mad as hell. 'Looked like my sister' he said. 'Sounded, acted just like her too, glad I got the heads up about the mind-fuck' he said, barely holding back the anger which you could read in his eyes.

'Appeared to me as Doyle' Cordelia told everyone, 'absolutely spot-on imitation' she said. 'Must be a method-actor or something' she theorised, 'the Robert De Nero of Evil.'

Angel leaned back against a wall. 'Jenny Calendar' he said. 'Gotta love the classics' he added between gritted teeth.

'Professor Seidel' Fred said quietly. Everyone looked confused except Gunn who couldn't look her in the eyes. If she didn't want to explain nobody would press her and they didn't ask.

Connor twitched. 'My mother' he spat. 'It appeared as my mother' he repeated through searing hatred. 'I tried to rip its throat out' he said, 'but my arm passed right through' he said bitterly.

Angel looked at his son. He would have given anything to make it better, to go straight over and hug him but that just wasn't an option, not yet. 'Your mother loved you more than her own life' he told Connor evenly. 'That _thing_ you saw last night wasn't worth a hair on her head, just use the hate against it' he told the boy.

'I will' Connor vowed. He didn't like being played, people kept doing that to him and it wasn't going to happen any more he promised himself.

'So what about you English?' Gunn asked, looking to Wesley, everyone doing likewise.

Wes had been pouring himself a glass of milk and took a mouthful. 'Oh I got a visit on my first night here' he told them. 'Lilah not too surprisingly' he continued. 'Even had a nice red ring around her neck, but I've not seen The First since' he said.

'Only tries the once?' Gunn asked hopefully.

Wes shrugged. 'Not sure about that as a rule' he replied. 'But when I asked if it could wear an even shorter skirt next time it appeared it seemed to take the wind out of its sails and it left in a hurry' he continued as everyone looked at him in surprise. 'Hey you knew Lilah' Wesley continued, 'those legs always made up for a crap-load of evil' he stated dispassionately, taking another drink from his glass.

Gunn broke up first, his anger turning to booming laughter. 'You really _are_ the man English' he told him as the others joined in with the laughter. It was the emotional release they needed.

Angel gave Wes a look of gratitude. Seeing Lilah probably had hurt a lot but Wes put the group first. Acknowledging Angel's look, Wes nodded back and raised his glass in a mock salute. 'Shall we go get breakfast then?' he asked. 'I know a place that actually serves half-way drinkable tea' he told them. 'I'll drop in at Buffy's on the way to see if anyone wants to join us and offer to pick them up any provisions they need after we eat' he told them. 'Do you want to tag along Connor?' he asked. 'You can meet the potentials' he told the teenager.

Connor considered that. 'Has anyone got a comb I could borrow?' he asked plaintively after a few seconds. 'One that's not covered in hairgel remains' he added, pre-emptively stopping an offer from his father.

**Summers Residence – Sunnydale – April 2003**

Breakfast for twenty or so working out of a small kitchen required detailed planning and an efficient schedule, none of which they had so it often reverted into a free-for-all until Andrew started yelling about personal space or Buffy ended up making a speech about teamwork.

Anya was probably the best administrator of the group, she had a single-minded approach to problems and her business acumen could be easily turned to other endeavours, but for some reason they wouldn't let her put together a detailed daily routine for everyone, even though Andrew had offered to help with the time and motion study and illustrating the charts. The house therefore operated as a freaky kind of anarchic dictatorship where the dictator was frequently far too hands-off for the good of the group. Even communism would have been better, the former vengeance-demon had claimed, and look at the way _that_ panned out eventually and incidentally to her slight surprise.

A knock at the door was answered by Vi who had already managed to eat and who found herself looking at an unusually shaven Wesley and a teenage boy who she let in. The boy was kinda cute she thought, but she wasn't sure having his hair that length really suited him.

'Good Morning All' Wes greeted the house. 'I'm just here to find out if you need any groceries picking up from the supermarket and to introduce Connor who you'll be seeing a lot of' he announced. They'd already been told about him and his unusual parental and upbringing circumstances so at least the boy didn't have to go over that hurdle himself.

Connor was surprised at just how intimidating being looked over by a horde of teenage girls could be. He tried to maintain a disinterested, cool and slightly aloof manner however and was glad he'd tidied up his hair at least.

'So he's the boy with superpowers?' Kennedy asked, looking him up and down. 'I heard you're supposed to be_ almost_ as strong as a slayer?' she said to him.

Connor wasn't entirely sure whether he objected more to being called a "boy", or to the "almost" crack, so he ignored both equally. 'I'm only here because I got dragged here' he replied. 'If people don't want my help I'll head back to LA and kill demons there instead' he said, giving Kennedy a cold stare. She was still only a potential, he could put her on the floor in a second, snap her neck in barely more time, and she wouldn't be able to do a damn thing about it.

Kennedy returned the challenging stare. 'So I also heard they call you "The Destroyer" back where you grew up?' she remarked. 'They going to change that to "Battleship" when you've put on a few pounds because you look like you could do with a good meal?' she told him.

Connor scowled for a second then his face changed to a smile. 'Okay I'll admit it' he said. 'That was a good line' he told her eventually, offering his hand to shake.

Kennedy looked at it. 'Sorry but I like girls' she responded. He probably thought that as the only teenage guy around everyone was going to fawn all over him she decided.

'Not a problem' Connor replied evenly, 'but you've got a bigger ego than mine if you thought I was coming on to you' he told her. 'And _I_ was the meanest thing in a place so bad you couldn't even imagine it' he declared, 'so I've got a _lot_ of ego' he stated, maintaining the smile.

Wesley watched the exchange with interest. Connor was doing better than he would have expected given his understandably poor social skills and lack of experience with verbal, as opposed to physical, sparring. Bright lad, he thought. People would underestimate his intelligence because of his ways and being underestimated is often the best advantage you'll ever get.

Kennedy reappraised Connor 'Okay I'll admit it too' she replied. 'Good line yourself' she said, grinning and shaking his hand. 'I'll introduce you to the girls' she offered and began reeling off names as Wes went to see Buffy.

'Settled in alright over there?' Buffy asked, looking for a clean bowl for her cornflakes. She had to start getting up earlier she decided looking at the state of the kitchen.

'Not too bad' Wesley replied. 'We had a visit from The First' he told her. 'Nothing that the team couldn't handle, but they're extremely pissed off.'

Buffy nodded. 'It'll have that effect' she sympathised. 'Not wise to get certain people riled up at you however' she noted with a chuckle. When he was annoyed and vengeful Angel was at his meanest and most creative.

'It doesn't strike me as the master tactician' Wesley agreed. 'Too much bluster and not enough effective action' he opined. 'We were going to go get breakfast would you like to join us?' he asked.

The slayer shook her head. 'Better not' she responded, 'Faith and I are going to run the potentials through some hand-to-hand in a minute' she told him.

'I'll come' Dawn said, quickly abandoning her efforts to find a cereal worth eating.

Wes smiled at the younger Summers. 'More than welcome' he told her. 'If you can rescue Connor from the girls we should be going' he said. 'If I'm late I'll end up stuck with the bill' he told her, displeased by the prospect.

Buffy frowned. 'I thought you had money now?' she asked. 'With the lottery win I mean?'

'It's the principle of the thing' Wes told her seriously, checking his watch.

'Connor, Food!' Dawn said loudly, it was easier than fetching him.

Connor turned and acknowledged the girl and then waved his goodbyes as he went to join her and Wesley. 'See you all later' he told the potentials. 'I've got to eat' he explained. 'Some people think I'm a bit on the skinny side' he told them. 'Don't see it myself though' he added in feigned mystification.

'Don't think I've forgotten about this afternoons training run' Wesley said loudly just before leaving the house, smirking to himself.

The potentials collectively moaned, they had to go further each time.

'Sadist' Dawn chided Wes and poked him in the arm.

'Can I come along?' Connor asked. 'I'm good with distance' he told him.

Wes nodded. 'Certainly but its only eight miles' he apologised.

'I'll sprint the last couple' Connor decided.


	11. Chapter 11

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

**Sammy's Diner – Sunnydale – April 2003**

'It's got to be magicks' Dawn stated, 'there's just no way that anyone with your figure can possibly eat like that' she told the woman sat across from her who looked up from her plate in amusement but still kept working on the hash-browns.

Gunn nodded. 'We've been saying that for years' he agreed. 'It's just freaky and we're the kind of people that know freaky when we see it' he said. 'Just never agree to split a restaurant bill equally, everyone else just ends up subsidising Fred' he told the teenager.

Pushing away her own plate Cordelia shook her head sadly. 'Someone definitely lucked out on the metabolic lottery' she told Fred, giving up on her own breakfast. The pancakes looked and tasted so good but she couldn't eat any more without guilty feeling and a lot of exercise afterwards.

Fred swallowed. 'You say that, but do you know how hungry I was on Pylea?' she asked rhetorically, reaching for her cup of coffee. 'You not going to finish those?' she asked Cordy, indicating her abandoned stack of pancakes.

'Go right ahead' Cordelia told her, as Fred stabbed one with her fork and transferred it onto her own plate.

'Thinking of lotteries' Cordelia continued. 'Did someone remember to get this weeks?' she asked Dawn. 'It's your turn to win' she reminded her.

'Xander got them a few days ago' Dawn replied. 'They're being guarded just a _bit_ more carefully than the potentials' she joked.

Connor was the only one still eating except from Fred. He shovelled bacon and eggs into his mouth with considerable relish, and only paused to take an occasional swig of orange juice. His own metabolism was extremely different from the human norm, or his vampire parents for that matter, and he needed to keep his strength up if they were going to be fighting demons.

With a resigned sigh Wesley was checking his wallet. Along with Dawn and Connor he had, as he feared, arrived a touch late and was being stuck with the bill. Trying to keep Fred fuelled was bad enough but Connor too meant that things were pricy. If they weren't lottery millionaires he would have been rather peeved about it.

'So how have you found Illyria?' Fred asked Dawn.

The teenager looked thoughtful. 'Imperious, condescending to the point of obnoxiousness sometimes, unbelievably powerful, too well informed for comfort… and pretty' she tagged on, 'very pretty' Dawn added for the benefit of Fred who of course looked exactly like her except for the differences in colouration.

Fred laughed. 'But do you think I should get blue streaks in my hair?' she asked.

Wesley quickly shook his head. 'Too confusing' he interjected quickly. 'If you looked _exactly_ the same we'd have to make you wear nametags' he said. 'I'm not asking for a scientific opinion on portals then having to put up with a lecture about how inferior our species is instead' he declared.

'Or if nametags are out we _could_ tattoo numbers on their foreheads instead' Dawn suggested then frowned. 'Could we get a needle that would tattoo Illyria?' she wondered aloud. 'Sharp, pointy metals things always come off second best from what Buffy says.'

'I'll stick to my normal hair colour' Fred told everyone. 'It seems like less bother all round' she added with a sweet smile that had everyone else smiling. Fred really was sweet and kind and basically all-round pleasant, with a strong moral centre to go with it, plus the brains of course. Wesley couldn't help but think her presence brightened up the room and he knew Gunn still thought likewise.

Wesley looked at his watch. 'I've got a few hours before I need to get over to Buffy's' he told everyone. 'Are we going shopping then?' he asked.

'You bet your Limey ass we're going shopping' Cordy replied. 'Think you can help me improve Connor's look?' she asked Dawn.

Dawn looked the teenager over. 'Couldn't be hard' she replied.

Connor scowled then his expression shifted to one of mild concern at the look of frightening avarice developing on Cordelia's face. 'Are you sure she's not still possessed?' he asked Wesley nervously.

'Only by a severe case of unrequited consumerism that has laid dormant because of insufficient funds for the last few years' Wesley told him. 'It takes perfect bliss to bring out your fathers dark side' he told the boy. 'With Cordelia it's a credit card and a virtually unlimited budget' he shook his head sadly. 'Those poor shop assistants don't know what's coming' he said sadly.

'Someone should have made a prophecy' Dawn said playing along. 'And lo in the third year of the third millennium a great terror will arise to the west….'

Cordelia fixed the girl with a glare. 'So you don't want anything yourself?' she asked coldly.

Dawn quickly looked down at the table. 'I'll be good' she said, holding back a grin.

'You shopping too Wes?' Gunn asked.

'There's a bookshop, a sporting goods department and an arcade to hide in' Wesley replied. 'I'm going, I'm just not planning to risk getting between Cordelia and anything she thinks she wants to buy' he said intelligently.

'Hey I earned this' Cordelia responded. 'Years of mind-splitting visions and migraines, last seasons fashions and washing demon goo out of my hair' she said, '_this_ is my reward for all that' she stated with certainty of belief. 'The Powers-That-Be may have stiffed me, but the Power-That's-Blue has righted _that_ wrong as far as I'm concerned' she declared.

'Sounds almost noble' Wesley commented quietly with a wry smile on his face.

Cordelia ignored the sarcasm, it was going to be too good a day to spoil it squirting maple syrup over an ex-watcher.

**Crawford Street Mansion – Sunnydale – April 2003**

There were just too many on the team now for everyone to even fit in a meeting at Buffy's house so everyone had gathered in the main hall at the mansion. Buffy introduced everyone and had started up on a motivational speech when to everyone's relief Illyria arrived late and had to be introduced formally to Connor and Cordelia both of whose brief encounters with the God-King had mainly consisted of being knocked unconscious. Angel had added that, as Angelus, his own introduction to Illyria had been very similar so it was almost like an initiation.

'So that's the basic plan' Buffy continued her talk. 'We spend the next couple of weeks gathering up the remaining potentials we can easily get here, Willow does the spell, we turn all the girls into fully-fledged Slayers and we kick the First's ass' she told the group.

'Why not change us now?' Kennedy wanted to know.

'If we do that some of the potentials that would otherwise come here for protection might decide to go it alone' Buffy replied. 'We need them here and we want them part of our group not freelance if at all possible.'

'I don't know about the others' Rona said. 'But I'd feel happier if I had the power to look after myself' she told Buffy. 'At the moment I just feel like a useless target' she explained with a lot of the potentials nodding in agreement.

'If things get bad we'll do the spell early' Buffy reassured her. 'But at the moment we've got the initiative and all the big guns' she said indicating Illyria, Faith the two ensouled vampires and Connor, but also thinking about the contents of the crates that several of the girls were using as improvised seating.

Xander was leaning against a wall. 'You know the First is going to be coming up with a surprise of his own' he pointed out. 'It's arrogant but not completely stupid as far as I can see.'

'Almost all of its best troops are stuck under the seal' Angel responded. 'It's got Bringers but based on the updates I've been getting from Wes over the phone, and what I've heard since I arrived, those are getting thin on the ground in this town' he said. 'I heard that a few more of them were knocked out of the game last night for that matter' he added looking at the potentials several of whom were smiling. 'Good work by the way' he told them.

'They ain't so tough' one of the potentials, a recent arrival, noted. 'They used to scare me but now I just hate them' she said coldly. Most of the girls felt likewise although despise might be closer than hate for some. The Harbingers deserved nothing better than extermination and they were going to get everything that was owed them.

'Continuing Xanders point I hope we're not starting to underestimate the enemy or overestimate ourselves' Robin Wood commented. 'This _is_ the apocalypse we're talking about' he reminded everyone.

'We are getting slightly blasé about those now I suppose' Wesley responded. 'Comes with the territory and the enormous amount of firepower we're bringing to this one' he said, pointing to the weapons arrayed on a nearby table. 'We don't want to fight, but by jingo if we do, we've got the spells, we've got the guns, we've got the money too' he said, paraphrasing an old tune.

Illyria looked around the room. 'You were successful in the original timeline with a fraction of these resources' she told them. 'My presence alone tilts the scales heavily in your favour' she said confidently.

'So powerful and yet _so_ modest' Cordelia quipped sarcastically.

The God-King turned to her. 'So weak and yet so quick to provoke' she responded. 'Not a combination of traits that lead to a long life, even by human standards' she observed.

'Now see here Smurfette…' Cordelia began before Angel managed to indicate she should drop it. It wasn't like Illyria would admit defeat if she lost a verbal exchange anyhow, and at worst she might decide to throw you through a wall.

'So what are we gonna do in the meantime?' Gunn wanted to know. 'If they were going to spend the next few weeks sitting on their ass he'd prefer to go back to LA and dust some vamps or maybe help Anne out at the shelter.

Buffy looked at the potentials. 'For you training, training and more training' she told them. 'For the rest Giles and Wesley think that as the First recovers from recent setbacks it's presence will draw half the demons in California to town as the end nears' she said. 'The hellmouth has always attracted them in droves and its broadcasting with a lot more wattage these days so we'll have our hands full stopping the new arrivals from snacking on the townsfolk.'

Willow had been sitting quietly in one corner. She was still nervous about what would happen when she tried the spell on the scythe and it was nagging at her. Sure Illyria said it would go fine but that was in a parallel universe and besides which she _could_ be lying right? 'I can feel the darkness growing' she told the group, speaking up suddenly. 'It's getting harder not to listen to it' the witch added apprehensively.

'You'll be fine Will' Xander told her with a reassuring smile. 'You're stronger than K-EVIL FM any day' he said.

'And don't worry if you go all black-eyed and homicidal again because we've got Illyria around now to beat you into a bloody pulp if you do' Anya added brightly.

Willow looked at her. 'Thank you that makes me feel _so_ much better' she replied sarcastically.

The sarcasm bounced off Anya like swords off Illyria. She just took Willow's reply seriously and smiled back at her in response.

Buffy took a breath and wondering if she was doing the right thing she handed the floor to Andrew of all people who beamed and unrolled a large map on the floor with coloured lines drawn all over it. 'I've drawn up a patrolling rota and divided the town into quadrants' he explained. 'We will have four teams running nightly to cover the whole of Sunnydale and keep those nasty Bringers, Demons and Vampyres at bay' he announced. 'The area with the most graveyards and therefore the highest likely vampyre quotient' he said, pronouncing vampire like someone from a 1930's horror film, 'will be designated the Delta Quadrant with the other four logically being Alpha, Beta and Gamma' he told them. 'Delta Quadrant will be patrolled by Team Voyager under the command of…'

'Kathryn Janeway' Xander interrupted before anyone else. 'I'm guessing the Alpha Quadrant has Team "Enterprise" right?' he asked with Andrew nodding in the affirmative.

Buffy winced. 'Okay we are _so_ not using those names' she told Andrew. 'It's quadrants numbers one to four and no team names' she said.

Andrew pouted. 'But I was going to put Illyria on your team' he replied. 'It would be just like having Seven-Of-Nine…'

'No' Buffy cut him off sternly.

Gunn looked at Principal Wood. 'So which of us do you think was going to get codenamed "Sisko"?' he asked.

Wood shrugged. The world was definitely doomed he thought despondently.

**Graveyard – Sunnydale – April 2003**

'Why do _I_ have to do this?' Fred wanted to know, whispering into her hidden microphone.

'_Face it'_ Cordelia's voice replied in her earpiece, the words slightly distorted by static. '_You really are all neck_' she told her. '_If vampires had skin magazines you'd make the front cover easy_' she said.

'Well why can't Illyria do it?' Fred whispered. 'At least the fangs would break on her neck' she pointed out.

'_She's across town_' Cordelia replied._ 'This is the part with the least cemeteries_.'

'Well how many darn graveyards can a town this size have anyway?' Fred wanted to know.

'_Twelve_' Cordelia replied on the radio, '_if you're only counting the big ones_.'

Fred blinked then carefully ignored the approaching footsteps behind her as she continued on her way following a short-cut footpath that cut across the cemetery. She hated being used as bait and it was definitely Cordy's turn next, and why couldn't vampires prefer eating guys anyhow, she wondered? It was clearly sexism.

'Out late aren't we?' a voice asked her from very close in. Fred span to find herself looking at a man in his early twenties with two more nearby.

'Taking the short-cut home' Fred explained nervously.

'Maybe we should escort you there' another of the three suggested. 'This is a dangerous town after dark.'

Fred nodded. 'I've heard that' she replied. 'I'm new here myself.'

'Texas right' the first stranger asked. 'I like Tex-Mex food' he said and then vamped out.

'I like it too but you've got something on your shirt' Fred told him, surprisingly unflustered by the fangs.

The vampire looked down. There was a bright green dot playing across his chest, it moved until it was directly over his heart.

'What the…' the vampire said before a very loud bang echoed across the graveyard and something slammed into his chest from nowhere, moving almost too fast to see. Already flying backwards with the impact he turned to dust in an instant with his two companions looking on in horror.

'Dangerous after dark' Fred agreed. 'The night vision goggles and the laser sights work really well though' she told them. 'You can run if you like but you'll just be tired when we catch you' she said.

They didn't take the advice and turned and ran. One only made it ten yards before a teenage boy pounced on him, smashed him to the ground and began pounding his fists into the vampires body.

The second got further, but as it was looking behind to see if it was being followed it got clotheslined by an arm that was put straight across its path. The vampire did a full one-eighty off sheer momentum and hit the ground just before the arm lowered, a mechanism of some kind on the strangers wrist operated and the vampire exploded into dust as a stake was slammed into its chest.

Angel dusted himself off and went to see Connor who was still beating the other vampire with considerable enthusiasm. He would have told the boy to stop playing and finish the job but Connor looked like he was having fun and it was probably a good psychological release.

'Good work Fred' Angel told her walking over. 'I liked the "you've got something on your shirt" line.'

'I have my moments' Fred replied with a smile. 'I guess the special rounds work' she said to Wesley who trotted up to them through the darkness wearing a pair of night-vision goggles and with one of the grenade launchers in his hands. He had added a laser sight to the weapon which helped place the high-velocity projectile in just the right place. If you didn't get the heart the sheer impact would still knock a vampire backwards and likely off its feet, but if you're going to do a job do it right first time.

Wesley pulled the goggles up onto his forehead. 'A bit loud though' he told them. 'And the recoil was something else' he added. 'But the sabot worked just as predicted' he said happily.

'Sabot?' Angel asked. 'To him it was just the French word for wooden shoe.

Wesley opened the breech and handed Angel a strange looking and very large cartridge. 'When it's fired the pieces there fall away leaving a stake only twenty millimetres in diameter to keep going, like the armoured-piercing dart fired by a tank' he explained. 'You get higher velocity and penetration that you would if you fired a full sized block of wood. The stakes got fins for accuracy, and to help stop it punching right through something, and there's a hole drilled up the middle from the back with a metal rod added for mass and structural strength' he continued. 'Xander helped me with turning and drilling the wood he's a lot handier than I am.'

'The physics of how it works are simple but very effective' Fred told Angel.

Angel handed back the modified grenade which Wesley rechambered. 'Are you done yet Connor?' he called out.

Connor pulled a stake from his pocket and dusted the vamp. 'Next graveyard?' he asked, walking towards the group.

'Yes' Angel replied. 'This time Cordelia can be the bait, Wesley can stay in the car with Fred and Gunn can try out the grenade launcher' he added.

A loud "_hell-yeah_" on their radio earpieces indicated that Gunn was listening in. He had been in the SUV with Cordelia watching things with his own set of night-vision equipment ready to move in if needed.

'Somebody might call the police if we keep firing something that loud at night' Wesley cautioned. 'It may be wise not to try it again tonight' he advised.

'_Bite me English_' Gunn responded in an annoyed tone.

Angel sighed. 'We try it one more time to make sure then it's back to crossbows' he told his crew.

Wesley looked at the launcher. 'It's for the best but they'll seem such a comedown' he noted sadly.

'_Just as long as I get to dust at least one vamp with the big gun I'll be happy_' Gunn told everyone.

'Can I try out the goggles?' Connor asked.

Wesley immediately passed them over and the teenager put them on and looked around. 'These are cool' Connor said. 'Want a go dad?' he asked.

'I can already see pretty well in the dark' Angel told him. 'Even better when I vamp out.'

'The yellow eyes work like a cats I would think' Fred theorised. 'Better use of available light makes them look reflective' she said.

As they walked back to the SUV Fred and Wesley were discussing vampire night-vision Connor was enjoying being able to see in the dark and Angel was enjoying watching his son be in a good mood for once.

A representative of Wolfram & Hart escorted by the First Evil in Buffy's form was watching with concern from a distance, although the former had already been scared fairly witless by what it had already observed elsewhere in town. The First had been right, Illyria had returned and the very name bought back unpleasant memories even to the Senior Partners themselves. They were right at the top of the heap these days but back in the promordium age they had been relatively low on the food-chain and if the Shaper of Things still had a fraction of its powers it would not be an enemy to be taken lightly.

'I hope the danger is self-evident' the First told the equally incorporeal representative who appeared almost Bringer-like in a hooded cowl.

'Indeed' the other being replied.

'So you will send help?' the First asked.

The hooded creature nodded. 'That is for the Senior Partners to decide but I will recommend we do' it said.

The First smiled. 'Axis of Evil?'

The representative of the Wolf, Ram and Hart turned to The First. 'Hopefully it will do better than the Axis we allied ourselves with sixty years ago' it commented.

'Well you can't always back the winner' the First replied with a shrug, 'but we're due one' it said.


	12. Chapter 12

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

**Crawford Street Mansion – Sunnydale – April 2003**

Xander looked at the thing, and as much to his surprise as that of anyone else he found he really _could_ strip an M16A2 in 57 seconds as he began to disassemble the weapon, laying the parts out in front of him professionally like he'd been doing it every day for years. 'Now I'm wondering if MRE's taste as bad as I think they do' he said absent-mindedly as he began to clean and oil the weapon which was laid out on a sheet on the ground with Xander sat beside it.

'If you're wondering about things you should be asking how Illyria knew we should get you an M16' Wesley noted. 'All the other rifles are G36K's, which are better incidentally, but you wouldn't already know how to look after them' he noted. 'I had to read the manual and I'm nowhere close to as proficient at maintaining the weapon as you are with that one' he admitted.

'Cordy knew, maybe she told Fred?' Xander suggested, still working away methodically.

'Nope' Cordelia denied, stepping around him to get to the coffee machine. Fred also shook her head in the negative.

Xander checked the barrel, looking down it for signs of dirt. 'Well maybe I told her?' he considered. 'She seemed to know who we all were without needing introductions' he said. 'For all I know we were drinking buddies, me with the beer, her with the battery acid on the rocks.'

Wesley frowned. 'We really don't know how she got here, or what she was doing between the time she said I died, which was in 2004, and the time she arrived back here which we do know was after the middle of 2005 because of the information on the DVD' he said. 'For that matter we're only _assuming_ she came from 2005 because of the data, it could have been _any_ time after June that year.'

'We should sit her down and ask her' Cordelia decided. 'I don't like being kept in the dark' she said.

Wesley sighed. 'The problem is that anything she tells us will alter this timeline just a little bit more, and the more it changes the less she knows what's going to happen' he responded. 'As things develop they'll soon be so far removed from the original she might as well tell us everything but her argument for keeping information back does hold some water at present.'

'Ripples on the pond' Fred told them. 'It's like chaos theory. Every slight change starts to interfere with all the other changes and everything goes completely out of whack, even events that are seemingly unconnected with whatever we're doing here in Sunnydale' she told them. 'Look at it this way' she said. 'That rifle in Xanders hands might have been otherwise sold to a gang and used to kill someone, but because we bought it instead that person will now live. _They_ will then make changes to the timeline themselves through their own actions which will affect events that none of us would have _ever_ been personally involved with.'

Xander grimaced. 'Too much deep thinking' he said eventually.

'Bar later?' Wesley suggested, Xanders comment earlier and beer had struck a chord. 'Deep drinking instead?'

'See now there's philosophy you can get your head around' Xander replied, putting the rifle back together. He finished, pulled back the cocking lever and pulled the trigger with a satisfying click on the empty chamber. 'Man and machine-gun in perfect harmony' he declared. 'Keep the Euro-Trash' he said pointing to a nearby G36K, 'I'll stick to good old reliable American engineering' he told the watcher.

Wesley smirked. 'Heckler and Koch have one of those "Euro-Trash" rifles that has fired 25,000 rounds without jamming once and has never been cleaned' he told him. 'Try _that_ with the Yankee Crap there' he said grinning, pointing at Xanders M16A2.

Xander patted his rifle. 'Don't listen baby' he told it. 'Daddy still loves you.'

**Sunnydale Airport – Sunnydale – April 2003**

Buffy checked the electronic boards. 'Why are flights always late arriving?' she asked. 'I could have been training, or catching up on my sleep, or spending money at the Mall like everyone else' she complained.

'You wanted to come' Willow replied placidly, leaning back as best she could in the uncomfortable airport chairs. 'Anyhow it's only a few minutes later than expected, you're just not a patient person' she told her freind.

Buffy thought about arguing with that but patient people didn't want to start pacing around the airport lounge like she wanted to do so she let the matter drop. 'I thought it would be nice for the potential Giles is bringing along if I was to meet them at the airport personally' she said. 'They're bound to be nervous' she reasoned.

Willow smiled. 'Look there he is' she declared, spotting Giles with a young girl in tow. He had picked her up back in England of all places after the Coven in Devon had detected yet another another undiscovered potential back in the mother-country.

'Hey Giles welcome back' Buffy called to him, running over and offering to help with his luggage. 'You must be Natasha' she said to the Girl offering her hand. 'I'm Buffy' she greeted the potential warmly.

The girl smiled back and shook the proffered hand. 'Nice to meet you' she replied in a variety of English accent Buffy didn't recognise, they had so many and they were so different. Having lived across the pond for a little while Willow recognised it from British TV as being from Liverpool, an accent known as "Scouse" for some reason she couldn't quite figure out.

'This is Willow my best friend' Buffy introduced the other girl. 'We'll take you home and you can fight the jetlag there' she told the potential.

'We'll have to wait for the others' the Girl replied. 'They were in a different line at passport control' she told Buffy.

'Others?' Buffy asked Giles who nodded.

'You found some more potentials?' Willow asked him.

Giles shook his head as four newcomers arrived and greeted Giles with a nod. They definitely weren't all potentials because the eldest was a boy in his late teens and of the three girls two looked like they weren't even into theirs. 'They aren't potentials' Giles told Buffy. 'Well not potential _slayers_ anyhow' he continued. 'This is Stephen' he said indicating the boy, 'the older girl is Emily and her sisters Jessica and Deborah' he continued. The two younger sisters were apparently identical twins but wore their hair very differently probably to have some identity of their own Willow suspected.

'Who are they?' Buffy wanted to know.

'Are you really the slayer?' the older girl Emily asked. 'Mr Giles said you'd help us look after the girls' she told Buffy. She had a protective arm around each of her younger siblings and the boy was watching over them too. They looked very scared.

Giles looked at Buffy. 'They're watchers' he told her.

**Summers Residence – Sunnydale – April 2003**

Natasha was off being introduced to the other potentials but the four junior watchers were sat on Buffy's couch, the two younger girls sat between the teenagers. The boy, who could have been seventeen or eighteen he was certainly tall enough, wore a stoic mask but his eyes were everywhere.

'Baby watchers?' Dawn asked curiously. Once again she found herself handing out drinks, sometimes she wondered if her contribution to the war-effort was going to mainly consist of beverage distribution.

'From the Academy' Giles explained. 'The former Academy I should say because it was wiped out the same day as the Council' he explained. 'The First didn't just want to wipe out the slayer Line it wanted to get rid of the next generation of watchers too. I thought they were all gone' he told them.

'Thanks for coming along to check' Stephen said coldly. 'We've been on the run for weeks' he told the group, more than a touch bitter about being forgotten about judging from his tone of voice.

'I'm sorry Stephen but if I'd known I would have helped sooner' Giles apologised. 'We wouldn't have left you to fend for yourselves' he told him earnestly. 'You weren't abandoned, we didn't know you were out there' he said.

Stephen looked either unconvinced or unimpressed but didn't comment further.

'What happened?' Faith asked. She didn't really know much about the Academy except that they trained watchers there and it was sort of like a boarding school. She didn't know they started so young though she pondered, looking at the two little girls who were maybe all of eleven.

'Harbingers attacked the Academy and killed everyone' Stephen replied evenly. 'We got away, end of story.'

Emily shook her head, there was a lot more to tell than that. 'Stephen saved us' she told them. 'When they came and started killing the staff and students I took my sisters and we hid but they found us' she said. They were going to kill us too but Stephen killed them instead.'

'How?' Buffy asked.

Stephen reached down and pulled something from his luggage. It was a very long sports bag which he opened to pull out a long-sword in its scabbard. 'Same way you would' he replied. 'A few of us from the Sixth Form and the Masters tried to hold them off but we were overwhelmed' he said. 'I ran into the girls on my way to meet up with some of the others making a stand in the main hall and they came with me.'

'They were already all dead by the time we arrived' Emily continued the story, 'and the Harbingers were everywhere, so we ran for the woods outside of the Academy and kept running. We tried to contact the Council but they were already gone' she said, starting to tear up but holding them back so as to not set off her little sisters.

'What about your parents?' Willow asked.

Emily sniffed. 'They both worked at the Council Offices in London' she replied. 'They're gone' she explained stroking her closest sisters hair.

Giles sighed. 'Watchers tend to be dynastic' he explained. 'My father was a watcher as were both of Wesley's parents I believe. Some of the families go back centuries' he said.

Willow looked at the two little girls feeling awful for them. They were so young. 'What about your family?' she asked Stephen.

'My mother passed away a few years ago' Stephen replied. 'As for my father he was at the Council Offices when they blew up too' he explained. 'You knew him by the way' he told Buffy. 'Although he told me you didn't exactly see eye to eye' he added.

Buffy looked confused.

'Stephen's surname is Travers' Giles told her. 'He's Quentin Travers son' he explained. Buffy and the Head of the Council certainly hadn't seen eye-to-eye and he wondered how his son and the slayer would get on because of that.

Surprised by the revelation Buffy looked at the teenager who met her gaze. 'Sorry about your father' she told him. 'He was right about us not seeing things the same way but I still knew he was on the right side and doing what he _thought_ was best' she went on. 'The same goes for your parents' she told the girls, 'I may not have always liked the methods the Council used but I grieve for the loss of anyone that puts themselves between the human race and the darkness' she said. 'You should be proud of them and honour them as we all should' the slayer added with a serious expression.

'I'm not looking for sympathy' Stephen Travers responded. 'I want the girls safe and beyond that I'm here to help' he declared. 'I'm a watcher, like my father and his father and grandfather before him' he continued. 'You've got potentials and I can help train and advise them' he stated with conviction and more than a little passion to his voice.

Buffy smiled. 'Thanks for the offer but I think we've got that handled' she replied. She couldn't imagine a rookie watcher being that much help.

Stephen glared at the slayer. 'Don't even _think_ to dismiss me' he snarled. 'I've been getting ready for this my whole life' he told her. 'I'm as good with a sword as anyone who ever went to the Academy, I know demonology and about the magicks and you'll go a long way to find anyone as motivated' he claimed with some justification on all counts.

Faith frowned. 'You just want revenge I can see it in your eyes' she told the boy.

'Is that a moral indictment from Faith Lehane?' Stephen replied wryly. 'How ironic' he continued with a sneer. 'Yes of course I know all about you' he said in response to Faith's resultant shift in expression. 'I was in the final year of the Academy, we get told about all the dirty little secrets of the trade before we get sent out into the world' he told her.

Giles raised his hand to warn Stephen off from the course he was on. As a senior watcher he had authority here in Stephen's eyes and the teenager clammed up and backed off immediately. He still regarded the slayers as little more than tools though, they were short-lived cannon-fodder in the fight against evil and certainly not to be entrusted with the authority that Buffy had apparently been given.

Wesley arrived, he'd just driven over from the Mansion. 'I got the message' he told Giles and looked at the four new arrivals. 'Thought you were all dead' he said simply. 'Probably should have checked' he admitted.

'There's a lot of that going around' Stephen replied sardonically. 'You'd be Wesley Wyndham-Pryce I believe?' he checked.

Wesley nodded.

Stephen turned to the girls. 'He was a watcher but got himself fired because that one turned traitor' he told them, indicating Faith. 'Don't trust either of them' he advised the three sisters who nodded their acceptance of his suggestion. They clearly regarded him as their leader which was understandable in the circumstances.

'So I'm guessing the Academy isn't a charm school' Willow observed.

Wesley momentarily considered giving the little twerp a slap round the head, or perhaps asking Faith to do so, but thought better of it and instead turned to Giles. 'What are we going to do with them?' he asked.

'They're still under threat from The First so we're obliged to protect them as we would the potentials' Giles replied. 'You've got more room at the mansion' he noted, 'can you take them?' he asked.

Wesley shrugged. 'That would be Angel's call' he replied, 'but I'd doubt he'd say no' he told Giles.

'Angel?' Stephen repeated. 'You mean Angelus?' he continued. 'Oh I'm sure we'd be perfectly safe with _him_' the teenager said scornfully.

'Your call junior' Buffy responded, annoyed by his attitude, 'but seeing as how we've got Spike, AKA "William the Bloody" staying here unless you want to go back home to Merry Olde England you'll be sharing your home with a vampire for a while either way' she told him.

The two little girls started to panic. Buffy cringing and realising what she'd said. 'It's okay' she said in her gentlest caring voice. 'They're not bad anymore they've both been given souls and they fight for us now' she told them soothingly. 'They won't hurt you honestly' she added with as much sincerity in her voice as she could manage.

Wesley and Giles watched the girls and remembered their own strange childhoods. The constant fear resulting from being told point-blank by your parents that there really _were_ monsters, and that they always had to be on their guard. Being given protective charms by well-meaning relatives and having a wooden stake under your pillow from the time you could fit one in your hand. Hearing tales of watchers and slayers fighting demons around the campfire on school camping trips and of course the intense pride of attending and eventually graduating the academy.

'And just how many times has Angel's soul gone AWOL to date?' Stephen asked rhetorically. 'Tell him if he so much as looks at Jess, Deborah or Emily funny I'll stake him' he stated flatly.

Faith laughed. 'I'm sure he'll lay awake during the day worrying about that' she joked.

'I hope not because I'm not stupid enough to try and stake him at night' the teenager replied. 'Choose the ground, choose the time…'

'…and before you strike choose the best weapon for the job' both Giles and Wesley intoned together. It was a piece of advice drummed into watchers from an early age, their enemy was usually stronger, faster and more durable. If you were going to win you did so with careful planning and intellect, it was the slayers job to deal with situations when brute force was required.

Stephen smiled then his face switched to an expression of shock. Before anyone could see why he was on his feet, he had stepped in front of the three girls and he'd drawn his sword in a smooth, well-practiced and practically fluid motion, holding it defensively in a classic fencing pose as he'd been taught. Swordplay was a major part of Watcher training and he had tried to live up to the family tradition of being highly skilled with a long-blade, he certainly held the thing properly and his stance was top-notch Giles noted, being a pretty decent swordsman himself.

'Who are they?' Illyria asked curiously, indicating the new arrivals. She was wearing her default armoured appearance having reverted to it as soon as she entered the house returning from work at the High-School.

'Get a grip D'Artagnan' Faith told the teenage watcher. 'She's friendly' she told him. 'Hang-on, you don't know these four?' she asked Illyria in confusion. 'I thought you knew _everything_?' she said.

'I am not omniscient' Illyria replied. 'I only know what occurred in the original timeline and _they_ did not appear' she explained. 'Once again who are they?' she asked, annoyed at having to repeat herself to lower life forms.

'Survivors of the Watchers Academy' Giles explained.

Illyria looked at them. 'There were no survivors' she stated. 'They were all killed at the time of the original attack as far as I knew. If any survived they must have been hunted down later' she said.

'We _were_ hunted down' Emily replied, looking nervously at the demon. 'They caught up to us a fortnight ago but Stephen fought them off again' she said.

The boy kept his eyes on Illyria and wasn't about to put away his sword though he was now holding it in a more relaxed manner. 'Emily got one of them' he said. 'It turned his back on her and she opened up its throat with one of their own knives' he told them, clearly proud of the girl.

'I had to look after my sisters' Emily said quietly. She didn't seem quite as proud of what she'd done as Stephen was.

Wesley looked thoughtful. 'I think I might have the answer' he spoke up. 'We were talking back at the mansion about how seemingly unrelated events might be caused by changes to the timeline and I think this would be one of them' he theorised. 'If the Bringers caught up with them once, perhaps they did so again in the original timeline but with more success' he suggested.

'But why not this time around?' Buffy asked.

Giles smiled gently. 'Because we've killed so many Bringers, those that are left have likely been pulled off the unimportant jobs like hunting wayward trainee watchers and redeployed to do more important things like fight us instead' he said, turning to the four newcomers. 'May I formally introduce Illyria' he announced grandly, indicating the Old One, 'God-King of the Primordium, Shaper of Things and the person that has quite likely inadvertently saved your lives' he told the tyoung watcher trainees.

Illyria looked at them with deeper scrutiny. 'Are they any use at all?' she asked. 'If not how are we going to dispose of them?' she queried unemotionally.

'Okay, so me saying she's "friendly" might have been overstating the case' Faith admitted, with several others nodding in agreement.


	13. Chapter 13

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

**Crawford Street Mansion – Sunnydale – April 2003**

'I put the girls to bed' Cordelia told Stephen. 'I think the jetlag finally beat out the nervousness' she continued. 'What about you?' she asked the teenager. 'We've got plenty of sleeping bags if you want to get some rest' she told him, 'I put one in the room if you want to stay in there.

'I'm fine' the Watcher trainee replied but didn't turn to face Cordelia, he was still far too busy keeping a close eye on Angel sat on the far side of the Great Hall. The vampire champion wasn't entirely sure if the boy had so much as blinked for at least an hour, at least he hadn't every time they made eye contact. Frankly it was starting to creep him out, and _he_ was supposed to be the scary one.

As Cordelia left the boy to his own devices and headed across to her friends, Angel turned to Wesley, who was sat down at a table reading through one of the books Giles had stolen from the Council before it blew up. 'I know they call you guys watchers but the kid's taking the job title too far' he told him.

Wesley looked up from the book. 'Remember how I reacted to you when we first met?' he asked. 'Face it, you're a legend, or rather Angelus is' he told him. 'That boy would have been raised hearing about your sordid history and you very likely both intrigue and scare the crap out of him.'

'Most of what I'm picking up isn't fear' Angel replied, 'and if I'm reading his body language right he's tensed up like a spring, and _not_ to run away' he said.

Wesley smiled gently. 'Take a step heading towards the stairs up to where the three girls are sleeping and you'll get to see exactly what's running through his mind, which will be running you through with that sword he's got placed so handily' he told him.

'Can't fault the boy for that' Angel replied, 'in fact it's the only half-way endearing thing about him so far' he continued, 'but it won't do him, or any of us, any good if he's wound up that tight for any much longer' he said. 'For one thing if he doesn't blink soon his eyeballs are going to dry out' he added with a wry smile.

'I'll give him another few minutes then have a quiet word' Wesley said. 'Or I _could_ shoot him with one of the tranquilliser guns' he suggested dryly.

Angel thought about it. 'We'll make that Plan C' he replied.

'So what's Plan B?' Wesley asked.

'I'll tell him to quit staring at me and get some sleep or I'll stick that sword up his ass' Angel replied straight-faced. 'I'm surprised I had to explain that one Wes.'

Wesley closed the book slowly. 'Speaking as another product of the Watchers Academy' he began, 'I'd best point out, before Cordelia does because I can tell she's about to, that you would have to remove the ramrod he's got stuck up there first' he joked. 'I'll have that quiet word now' he told Angel throwing a smug smile at Cordelia who actually had planned to say something of the sort. That damn Englishman knew her too well she thought sadly.

As Wesley made his way across the room Cordy sat down on the chair he had just vacated. 'I'm not sure what we're going to do with the girls' she said. 'I think Emily will be okay she's older, but the two little ones are petrified, and not just of you.'

Angel sighed. 'Well its not like we can take them to a therapist, anyone outside of our world would think they were insane. And why are they our problem anyhow?' he asked. He mainly thought of them as a Watchers Council sort of issue which put them firmly in the arena of Rupert Giles responsibility as far as he was concerned.

Cordelia scowled at him. 'They're eleven, their parents are dead, killed by the same son-of-a-bitch we're here to fight and which would kill them too if it got the chance, and most importantly we're _supposed_ to be the good guys and if we didn't make them our problem… well we wouldn't be' she said forcefully. 'Anyhow personally I like the fact I give a shit' she added sternly. It was a clear rebuke and the look in her eyes left no doubt about that.

Angel inwardly recoiled under her gaze, Cordelia was the moral centre of the team and she made damn sure everyone else kept in line when it came to that stuff. 'Okay I see your point so what should we do?' he asked.

'Well for a start, kill anything else that tries to hurt them, and make sure that they _know_ we'll kill anything that tries to hurt them' she replied, 'You can handle the first part' she told him. 'I'll handle the second' she said decisively.

The vampire champion nodded. 'Play to our strengths' he said. 'I get that' he told her. 'What else?'

'Hey I'm just making this up as I go along' Cordelia replied honestly. 'Keeping them safe, and feeling safe, is as good a goal as anything else for now' she said then paused looking back across the room. One of the twins, Jessica she thought from the hair, had come back downstairs and was looking around apprehensively. She spotted Stephen talking to Wesley and dashed over to him.

After a couple of minutes talking Stephen picked up the girl and carried her back upstairs with the girl carrying his sword for him. Wesley wandered back over to Angel and Cordelia.

'She woke up and got frightened because he wasn't there' Wesley explained. 'He's going to bed down on the floor next to them which calmed her down' he went on. 'It's really quite sweet' he said with a smile, 'and it worked out very well because I was getting absolutely nowhere with Plan A' he admitted.

Angel frowned. 'Pity because I was thinking that Plan B would make an excellent trial run if I ever needed to try out the same technique as Connor' he joked. 'Where is that boy anyway?'

'He's out with Faith and the potentials' Cordelia answered. 'Hanging around with all the teenage girls has turned his head' she told Angel. 'I'm not sure he knows what to do about the flirting and they've cottoned on because they're playing with him a bit.'

'He'll learn fast' Angel replied. 'I just hope he doesn't take any of it too seriously.'

Wesley smirked. 'I'd not claim to be the worlds greatest expert on teenage girls, or girls generally to be honest, but I think that not all of them are necessarily "playing" at the flirtation' he opined.

'Yeah umm…' Cordelia began 'You like _know_ he's not a virgin or anything, and I hope you've both got enough manners not to pry on my role in that further,' she said with a grimace. 'But if he gets involved with one of the girls properly he'll probably be expecting… well you know, and if he doesn't get it he might be…'

'Cranky and pissed off' Angel interrupted, remembering what he'd been like at the same age.

'Oh yes' Cordelia responded in the affirmative. 'You might like to give him a warning if it looks like his love-life starts heading that way' she suggested.

'And some birth control advise wouldn't go amiss I'd think' Wesley observed thoughtfuly. 'He might be embarrassed about that topic, if not completely ignorant. He was raised by a man with Eighteenth Century values and sensibilities after all, even if it wasn't actually you' he reminded Angel.

Angel thought about trying to talk to Connor on that subject and cringed. 'I'd sooner face a pack of Grox'lars' he said honestly.

**First Bank of Sunnydale – Sunnydale – April 2003**

The bank manager extended his hand and Fred shook it politely before sitting down. Gunn was playing the heavy, he did it very well and certainly looked the part having opted for dark glasses and a slightly menacing expression, and he was stood off to Fred's left holding a large briefcase.

'So I hear you wish to open an account here at First Sunnydale Ms. Burkle?' the bank manager began. 'I'm not sure why you insisted on seeing me though?'

Fred nodded. 'Well it's like this Mr Savitsky' she began. 'We are depositing quite a large sum in cash, more than might be usual, so I thought it would be best to approach the man in charge directly rather than end up working our way up the chain' she told him.

The bank manager smiled, he was new to the top job, having only just been promoted from the position of Loan Officer, but in his experience what other people thought was big money wasn't what a bank did. 'How much are we actually talking about?' he asked.

'An initial deposit of two million for now' Fred replied. 'Not a vast sum by my employers' standards of course, but enough to warrant my personal attention as his PA' she told him. 'I would certainly not wish to deposit it in an institution that I hadn't looked over myself. You know what they say, a million here, a million there and pretty soon you're talking about real money' she said with a charming laugh.

Savitsky swallowed, that was a tidy sum of cash even by his standards. Sunnydale was not a town that attracted big business as a rule, the high number of unexplained deaths and disappearances, plus the static property prices tended to put off investors and property speculators. 'Well I'm sure we can accommodate all your banking needs here in Sunnydale' he told her, trying not to sound too eager. 'Did you say a cash deposit?' he asked.

'So much easier for the petty cash than arranging bankers drafts or wire transfers' Fred told him. 'Some might think me foolhardy of course but our private security people are top notch' she told Savitsky , indicating Gunn who the banker noticed for the first time had a very large bulge under his jacket.

The bulge was actually a sandwich left over from lunch in an inside pocket rather than a handgun but it looked the part as much as Gunn did himself. Maybe next time he could play the businessman and Fred could be the muscle he thought to himself.

'My staff tell me that your employer is planning on purchasing land and property in the area?' Savitsky asked, tearing his eyes away from the bodyguard.

Fred nodded again. 'Angel Investments is always on the lookout for real estate that seems so undervalued as it does here in Sunnydale. Mr Angel always has his eyes open for a bargain and having visited a couple of the local Realtors the opportunities for low risk, high gain development looks ideal' she replied. 'Our initial deposit is really just operating capital to get the ball rolling and pay expenses, but once we get into gear you'll be very impressed with the way AI gets things done I'm sure' she told him with a winning smile. She looked the part too, in a very well cut and classy business suit, money was very useful.

The bank manager returned the smile. 'I can assure you that First Sunnydale will always be at hand to assist you in any way we can' he promised. 'I'll handle and process the deposit personally and have the documentation ready for completion and signing post-haste.'

'Excellent' Fred replied. 'I'm already more than pleased with your operation here, as I'm sure Mr Angel will be also' she told the Bank Manager.

They both smiled. Gunn stayed in character and didn't.

**Summers Residence – Sunnydale – April 2003**

'You bought the vineyard?' Buffy asked Angel incredulously. 'It's a complete wreck, we already set a good chunk of it on fire' she reminded him.

'That's why it was so cheap' Angel told her. 'It's away from the town but not too far, it's got underground caverns and tunnels we can use for training, Wesley wants a firing range for a start, and better than that don't you think that The First will be _monumentally_ pissed when we take over its old Headquarters' he said.

Buffy thought about that for a second. 'That's just petty you know that' she told him then grinned. 'I love it' she declared.

'As far as we know the place is still full of dead Bringers' Faith pointed out. 'And I'll bet they're starting to get ripe by now.'

Angel shook his head. 'You're forgetting what the local scavengers are like in this town' he told her. 'Spike let slip to some of the neighbourhood demons with a taste for dead flesh where there was the mother-load and that problems already been taken care of by a clan of ghouls.'

'Couldn't you have just made something up instead of telling us that?' Dawn responded with a look of revulsion on her face. 'Like you hired every undertaker in town no questions asked?'

'You talked to Spike?' Buffy asked, surprised that Angel of all people would go to him for help.

'If you're looking for someone that's in with the local lowlifes start with someone at their level' Angel replied, smirking at the other vampire.

'It was worth it just so the big poof owed me a favour' Spike replied. 'Worst thing I could do to him, he's the type that just has to pay you back and that'll grate' he said.

Faith sat down and put her feet up on the table for about ten seconds before Buffy knocked them back down to the floor. 'So have we got to go clear out these ghouls instead?' she asked, 'because those things smell worse than dead bringers.'

Spike shook his head. 'No need Love' he replied. 'I told them that the thing that offed all those Bringer gits would be back in a few days so if they knew what was best for them they'd make themselves scarce right after the all-you-can-eat buffet' he told her. 'Ghouls are unpleasant they ain't _completely_ stupid.'

'Smelly, unpleasant and stupid…I can see why you used to hang with them Spikey' Angel commented.

Spike snorted. 'That was predictable' he replied. 'You've lost your edge gramps, probably senility setting in, or maybe all that stuff on your hair has finally leaked through into your brains?' he theorised.

'At least I _have_ brains' Angel retorted.

'See there you go again, where's the originality and passion?' Spike asked rhetorically. 'I'll say this for Angelus, at least _he_ knew funny, you're just a bleeding straight man looking for a comic to bounce lines off… well maybe not _too_ straight what with those clothes and all.'

'Enough!' Buffy said loudly. Angel was starting to get riled up and Spike was clearly getting warmed up on the insults. She didn't want to have to stop them exchanging blows instead of lines, for a start she wanted the house to stay in one piece for more than a few days this time. 'Grow up the both of you.'

'Well he started it' Spike pointed out. 'And after he comes to me for help even' he complained.

'When I said "enough" I meant it' Buffy declared with a tone to her voice that signified that they should keep in mind what word beginning with v came before her title "Slayer".

The two vampires simply resorted to looking daggers at each other for the rest of their time in the same room.

'So how's Boy-Watcher and the Watcherettes?' Xander asked, he been lurking around watching the two vamps bicker with enjoyment but with the show over he decided to join in the conversation. 'I ran into them for a couple of minutes over at Angels place dropping off some things for the potentials and they looked kinda out of it' he said.

Angel shrugged. 'Between the jet lag and everything else they're mainly sleeping and eating at the moment' he replied. 'Give them a few days and we'll have a better idea' he told everyone. 'Cordy is keeping a special eye on the little girls and the potentials are fussing over them.'

'Well they _are_ cute' Faith commented. She was staying over at the mansion with half the girls so she had had a few dealings with the Academy refugees since they had arrived barely a day and a half before. 'Well they are' she said in response to everyone looking at her. 'I know they're only a few years younger than some of the rookies but they're like so small and …'

'Cute?' Buffy asked.

'Well yeah' Faith told her. 'You just want to look after them' she said.

'Maternal instinct?' Xander asked, tongue in cheek. 'Making you want little Faith's of your own?' he asked.

'Bite me Harris' Faith snapped back.

'That's more their thing' Xander told her with a sweep of his hand towards Angel and Spike. 'For me it's more biting comments than actual teeth.'

Faith held up a fist. 'I'd be more careful about the teeth if I was you' she threatened semi-seriously.

'So I heard you had Illyria as a substitute teacher earlier today, how'd that go?' Xander asked Dawn, changing the subject swiftly.

Dawn sighed. 'Not much to tell' she replied. 'Mrs Jacob went off sick so the Principal got Illyria to stand in teaching math. She was actually pretty good at it' she told them.

'The math or the teaching?' Buffy queried.

'Both' Dawn replied. 'It weirded me out, I kept expecting her skin to change colour and the dominatrix leather outfit to appear but she was well… normal. I mean except for the Blue hair which a lot of the kids think is cool by the way' she said.

'So she's the "cool" teacher?' Buffy asked.

'Not to me she's not' Dawn replied bitterly. 'She set me extra homework because she asked a question and I got the answer wrong' she told her sister.

'She's not really a teacher you know' Xander pointed out. 'She's a demon pretending to be a TA.'

'A Demon TA that currently lives in my house and could rip my spine out, or worse keep me behind after school' Dawn replied. 'That reminds me, I've still got to do that lousy homework' she said and got up to head to her room. At least things got quiet at night, the potentials were off patrolling with Blue herself, and some of Angels' people, so she had her room to herself for once.

'Now that's how to motivate youngsters today' Xander said. 'Give them the choice of betterment and education or dismemberment and evisceration.'

'It would have kept me in high school' Faith agreed.


	14. Chapter 14

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

**Old Factory – Sunnydale – May 2003**

'Vahrall Demons. Haven't seen one of them in a while' Xander said quietly. 'Guess all the Hellmouth activity has attracted them' he theorised, turning to Spike and pulling his night-vision goggles up onto his forehead. 'Now remember Spike if they want to jump into a hole don't do them a great big favour and chuck them in instead' he told the vampire.

Spike frowned. 'Almost start one bleeding apocalypse by accident' he remarked, 'and they'll be throwing it back in your face for eternity' he complained. 'Vahrall's you say? First thing I ever got to beat up after Riley's boys stuck that chip in me bonce' he remembered fondly, it had been a great relief to be able to hit something again.

'I miss that chip' Xander responded sadly. 'It was always good for a cheap laugh watching you clutch your head in agony. Happy days' he said with a sigh.

Spike ignored him. 'How many?' he asked.

Xander pulled the goggles back down. 'Three' he replied, looking around the pile of debris. 'Always three there are, no more no less… no wait there's four' he added correcting himself.

'Right' Spike said, turning back to the group of potentials with them. 'We've got four Vahrall Demons in there. They're strong and fast and they're a lot less into self-preservation than your average vampire so don't think that just because you've got the bastards outnumbered they'll be trying to run away because we've seen these things try to martyr themselves for the cause before' he told them.

'What's the cause?' Caridad asked. The potential was carrying a large mace and was rolling it in her hands nervously.

Xander pulled the goggles up again and faced her. In his opinion she was always worth looking at, he just wished she was older or maybe that he was a bit less wrapped up in Anya still. 'Opening the Hellmouth and ending the world' he replied. 'We think that's a step outside the acceptable boundaries of religious practices even here in the freedom loving USA' he added.

'How do you kill them?' Vi asked.

'Blunt force trauma, edged weapons, nothing unusual' Spike told the girls. 'They're pretty run-of-the-mill as demons go, just remember they're still a lot tougher than any of you yet' he cautioned.

'I don't know if I'm ready for this' Natasha the new girl said. 'I know you guys have been doing this a while but…'

'Oh yeah we're like hardened demon fighters' Rona interrupted her with a slightly sarcastic tone. 'We've been at this a few weeks at most and we're no stronger or meaner than you are. You'll be fine okay' she said, trying to sound reassuring.

Xander smiled. The potentials were like their own little support group sometimes.

'Excuse me for interrupting the female bonding' Spike interjected. 'But haven't you got some skulls to cave in?' he asked sardonically.

'You'll help if we need it right?' Natasha checked, still worried about the situation.

Spike nodded. 'Yell for help and I'll be down there chewing on Vahrall neck before you can say "Liverpool lose at home to Man U again".'

The English girls' mouth dropped open. 'I might have guessed you'd be a United fan after all those years without a soul' she snapped back.

Spike grinned, now there's the flash of spirit she needed he thought.

As they watched the potentials move through the factory to sneak up on the demons Xander raised his M16A2 rifle and got ready to fire if needed. He could have just gunned down the Vahralls himself but the girls needed the practice and it would have made a heck of a noise. The Cops were still making statements about tracking down the "kids" who had set off "excessively loud fireworks" the night that Wesley and his friend Gunn had been trying out the grenade-launcher.

Spike vamped out next to him to gain the benefit of the better night vision he got when he did so. Xander couldn't help but flinch slightly but he didn't really think he was in any danger, Spike hadn't demonstrated himself to be a threat since Principal Wood inadvertently removed his trigger "programming".

Anyhow having a crucifix and a stake in your pockets and a loaded assault rifle in your hands was damn comforting Xander decided, watching with professional interest and making mental notes to talk through with the girls afterwards as the potentials leaped to attack the unsuspecting demons.

**Summers Residence – Sunnydale – May 2003**

'Getting busy out there' Faith declared, yawning and dropping into a chair that Giles had just vacated, heading to get himself a cup of tea. 'Ran into half a dozen vampires and a pair of Fyarl's before midnight last night and it got busy after that' she told Buffy before taking a bite of the cereal bar that was her breakfast. 'If I didn't know better I'd think there was an apocalypse coming' she mumbled between bites.

'Don't talk with your mouth full' Buffy told her. Faith was spraying little bits of grain onto the carpet and it had only just been vacuumed. 'How was it over across town?' Buffy asked Xander who was himself drinking another cup of coffee having eaten at home before heading over to Buffy's for their daily late morning conference.

'Vahrall Demons, only the four but they made the girls work for the win' Xander replied. 'Spike got all nostalgic and ended up pounding on one for old times sake after it got a decent kick in on Rona' he continued. 'She's alright but a bit bruised so she's sitting out training today' he told her.

Buffy nodded in agreement. They didn't have the quick healing of full-blown slayers so they had to be a lot more careful not to aggravate injuries. 'I got a phonecall from Angel' she said. 'He and his team found a nest of Durslar Beasts out by the packing plant and cleared them out.'

'Durslars?' Faith asked curiously. 'New one on me' she said.

'They eat the heads of human babies' Giles told her, returning with his tea and slightly miffed that Faith had stolen his chair. 'Vile creatures' he said with distaste.

'And _now_ I feel better that Wesley tried out one of those phosphorus grenades on them' Buffy said coldly. There were some things that deserved a _far_ more painful demise than a sword, club or axe could deliver and an incendiary bomb fitted the bill nicely she thought.

Faith nodded. 'Way to go Wes' she agreed before taking the final bite of her breakfast and chewing it slowly.

'How did Illyria get on with Connor?' Giles asked. The previous night was the first they had tried them patrolling together alone after Illyria complained that everyone else just slowed her down.

'He sniffs 'em out then she snuffs 'em out' Faith told him after swallowing. 'Ran into the kid this morning and he looked pleased with himself so I guess they scored a few points.'

Giles sipped his tea. 'Hard to believe that despite our ongoing mass culling of the local demon fraternity it seems there's more every night. I can only surmise that the Firsts' influence is attracting them here en-masse' he reasoned.

'It's May' Willow pointed out, looking up from the book of spells she had been engrossed in until now. 'Everything always falls apart in May' she said with certainty.

'Well all I can say is, if the town keeps getting worse at this rate everyone is going to move out because even the _normal_ people are going to notice pretty soon that this burg is going to hell in a handbasket' Faith opined.

Buffy frowned. 'Illyria said to me yesterday this happened last time but over a longer period. This has been a lot more sudden' she said. 'I just can't see why the First has suddenly got so much more out-of-town muscle coming in keeping us occupied.'

'Maybe it didn't need to last time?' Willow suggested. 'Bringers and Turok-Han were plenty and they've got to be more reliable' she opined. 'Half these new demons hate each others' clans almost as much as they hate us' she noted.

'Can't you pick up on anything Will?' Buffy asked.

The witch shrugged. 'The general vibes in this town are getting darker and darker but nothing that would explain why we've suddenly become the must-see holiday destination for every demon in North America' she said.

'I know we've been playing the waiting game but come on Buff isn't it time we rolled out the big guns and slayerised the girls?' Xander asked. 'We'll have well over two dozen ready by the end of the week and most of them with training and a bit of experience' he said. 'We open up the seal, give the First's Army a monumental asskicking, close the hellmouth forever and then go see a movie. I'll even pay for the popcorn' he offered.

'There are _thousands_ of Turok-Han under that Seal' Buffy pointed out, 'and Illyria still hasn't told us where that Amulet comes into things, other than we need Spike to wear it because he did last time' she added.

Xander scratched around his eye. He had been subconsciously doing that ever since Illyria told them he'd originally had it gouged out by Caleb. 'That's what all the hardware's for' he responded. 'We tenderise them with fire and high-explosives for a while before we make our move' he said. 'Oh come on I can't be the only one who wants to yell "Fire in the hole" and drop a grenade through the open seal?' he asked. 'Wesley says he knows how to make cheap homemade napalm too, we can pour a tanker load of the stuff in there then set it all off at once when we've got a big group of them bunched up under the seal. If nothing else it'll make them scared of going anywhere near it.'

Buffy looked at him. 'And who's idea was _that_ originally?' she asked.

Xander quickly looked to Giles who took off his glasses and started cleaning them. 'We had a brain-storming session' the watcher replied non-committally. 'Trying to think outside the box now we have greater resources' he said.

'Hey if you think _that's_ wild' Xander continued, 'Fred's building a big dual chainsaw contraption that will dice anything that gets past the girls and tries to get up through the seal once you go down there' he said. 'It'll be like Turok-Han in a blender' he explained, grinning. 'Just make sure our people who stay topside turn it off before you try to leave yourself' he warned seriously. 'It won't be too discriminating on what it chops up.'

Buffy crossed her arms. 'Any other secret weapons nobody has bothered telling me about?' she asked with an edge to her voice. She was feeling out of the loop and didn't like it.

'The Guardian is enchanting some swords for us' Giles told her. 'They won't be anything like as effective as the scythe itself, but they'll be more effective against vampires than normal weapons so she says.'

'I sorted that out' Faith admitted. 'Her and Giles don't seem to get on' she explained.

Buffy turned to her. 'You too?' she exclaimed. 'Is this like a secret coup?' she asked over-dramatically.

'You just seemed so busy we just thought we could save you having to deal with a few things yourself personally' Willow told her. 'I kinda helped with the sword enchantment' the witch admitted. 'She had the spells and I had the power to speed up the process.'

'Usurped' Buffy said. 'My authority has been usurped!' the slayer claimed.

'Think of it as a transition from the principle of Divine Right of Kings to Constitutional Monarchy' Giles told her. 'We remain your obedient Councillors and Ministers but we've helped out with the day-to-day running of the Kingdom.'

'That analogy sounds _very_ British' Buffy replied, narrowing her eyes.

Giles looked thoughtful. 'Be grateful it wasn't French instead because there might have been a guillotine involved at some point' he joked. 'Honestly Buffy, we still all regard you as the rightful Monarch' he said chuckling. 'Good Queen Buff as it were' he added, eyes twinkling.

'And if you're giving out titles Your Buffyness, "Sir Xander of the Sunny Dale" would look _great_ on my business cards' Xander told her, dropping to one knee and bowing his head.

Buffy looked down at him. 'I need a better class of subjects' she said eventually. 'Is there a catalogue for those I could look through? I'm looking for something in the sycophantic line' she announced.

**Wolfram and Hart Building – Los Angeles - May 2003**

'Just like old times Holland' Lilah said to her former boss as they strode down the corridor.

'There _is_ a touch of déjà vu in the air tonight' Manners agreed. 'Nice to be working with you again by the way' he added graciously. 'Reassuring to know that when the Senior Partners want a job done properly they know who to turn to isn't it?'

Lilah nodded. 'Of course there is the advantage that seeing as how we're both dead we're less of a burden on the payroll' she observed.

The former, and indeed Late, Head of Special Projects smiled. 'I missed that wry sense of humour, it's a pity we were reassigned to different holding dimensions, my colleagues at my current offices are really quite dull' he told her.

'Mine was as bad' Lilah responded sympathetically. 'This may be a temporary assignment but frankly LA is looking close to paradise' she continued. 'I'm hoping that the lead I've taken in assisting The First in its struggles with our mutual enemies will result in my position here becoming permanent, or at least extended' she said as they continued to walk along at a brisk pace through the labyrinth of tunnels deep below the tower. Even the dungeon was above them now. 'From what I hear, our incentives for freelancers to head to Sunnydale has been remarkably successful, we're even having transferees in from the Cleveland district according to our branch there' she said.

Manners smiled again. 'Yes the Sunnydale Hellmouth is starting to teem with what most would consider the undesirable element' he agreed. 'The slayer and her allies must be run ragged trying to keep ahead of the game while the First rallies its troops' he said. 'Of course if it looks like our "ally" is getting too strong we'll immediately sell him down the river as per company policy' he added matter-of-factly.

'Naturally' Lilah replied. 'We can't have every dark entity in the world thinking it can end it' she agreed. 'That's _our_ prerogative' she declared, towing the company line.

'The Senior Partners are, of course, in complete accordance' Holland Manners told her. 'If it wasn't for the new player we would have let the slayer handle the issue and kept well out of it, but as things are, we _are_ having to get our hands dirtier than I would like' he noted sadly. 'I do so dislike having to use brute force. It's so uncivilised' he said regretfully.

Lilah stopped to check her pager which had bleeped. It wasn't anything important so she put it away and carried on. 'To be honest when I heard that we were having to deal with a rogue Demon God playing for the other side I was more than slightly incredulous of the report' Lilah admitted. 'But if the Senior Partners take the threat seriously it must be treated with urgency' she said.

'The appearance of Illyria does seem to have taken the people at the top somewhat aback' Manners replied. 'It's a bad memory that was supposed to have been safely suppressed but it, or perhaps I should say "she" given her current form, could be a fearsome thorn in our sides' he told her. 'Although not what she once was, she is certainly more than a match for any other denizen of this realm and although we could overwhelm her with sheer numbers, the losses the Corporation would take would be entirely unacceptable. The bottom line is that we need to recruit outside help to deal with her before _she_ decides to deal with _us_' he told Lilah seriously.

'It's a pity Lindsay isn't here too it would be a real trip down memory lane' Lilah observed as she pushed open the double doors into the temple chamber. They walked in together and paused just inside, letting the doors swing closed behind them.

'Five are without Soul' the High Priest read from the scroll.

'Yet they live' the nearby Dark Monks chanted.

Holland dropped his head into his hands. 'I knew I should have stayed for dessert at lunch and got here five minutes later' he moaned.

Lilah nodded in agreement looking at the large ornate box in the centre of the room with the five vampires chained to it struggled to break free. 'All we need now is for Angel to appear and cut off someone's hand' she said.

'Five are without Sun' the High Priest read.

'Yet they live' the monks chanted in response as Lilah moved her hand, one index finger outstretched, in a spiral motion trying to get them to hurry up.

'Five are dead'

'Yet they live'

Lilah tapped on her watch. The High Priest saw her and sighed. Damn Lawyers had no sense of ritual or occasion he thought, getting to the Latin text.

'Et illi quinque sacrificum est et illi que est mortuus vivet' the priest read.

'Nearly there' Holland said gratefully. 'And no Angel that's a big plus' he added, directing the comment to Lilah who was in clear agreement.

'Dum vita et mors non duas res sed unas sunt. In tenebris lux est, in luge tenebrae sunt. Serge! Serge! Serge! Serge! Serge! Serge!' the priest declared.

The five chained vampires seemed to explode into a whirlwind of dust that span around the box and eventually entered it. The flash of light that followed was exactly the same as when they had resurrected Darla all those years before.

Manners rubbed his neck just thinking about it. Damn unreliable self-serving vampires he thought, waving the monks forward to lift the lid from the box. 'Ironic how it's the slayer that made this possible in a way' he said. 'We could have never obtained somebody of this calibre normally, they just wouldn't be willing to demean themselves to work for the Firm even if we had the power to bring them here to this world, which we don't.'

'Can't just magic up someone who can stand up to a God at whim' Lilah agreed. Illyria was far too powerful for anything _remotely_ mortal to handle.

'True enough' Manners concurred. 'But resurrecting a dead human being isn't anywhere near as tricky' he said looking down into the box, the monks having removed the lid.

'Hello Ben' he began warmly. 'We're hoping we could have a word with your sister' he added with a friendly smile to the shivering naked man looking up at him from the box.


	15. Chapter 15

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

**Shadow Valley Vineyards – May 2003**

'Again' Giles ordered and the potential took a step forward and tried to run her opponent through. She had barely started to lunge when her sword was easily parried away and a sharp crack on her forearm caused her to drop the weapon with a yelp. 'If you hit me with that stick one more time…' she started to say, clutching her arm. It wasn't injured but it stung like crazy.

'… you'll maybe start to learn something' Stephen interrupted her and bought his bamboo cane up in a mock fencing salute. 'She's telegraphing horrendously' he told Giles. 'Her actual technique is fairly adequate otherwise, but she always lets you know what she's about to do' he observed.

Giles nodded in agreement and faced the group. 'It's not about the power' he told the girls gathered for the sword training. 'It's about reading your opponent' he explained.

'Oh come on' Rona protested rubbing her arm. 'He sleeps with a sword next to him and probably talks to it when nobody's around' she declared causing a ripple of laughter from the others. 'How are we supposed to compete with that?' she asked coldly.

Stephen opened his mouth for a retort but a look from Giles caused him to snap it back shut again. They were supposed to act like professionals he knew.

'Talks to it?' Molly whispered to the group. 'I bet he writes poetry to it' she continued. 'Poor Emily it's one thing being two-timed for a piece of ass, but a piece of steel...'

Giles was apparently just out of earshot of that one but Stephen wasn't and he went bright red and got very flustered. He was surprisingly easy to agitate, despite a tendency to be intense and serious much of the time, and baiting the young watcher trainee was rapidly becoming a popular pastime now he had started helping out Giles. The potentials smelled blood in the water and they were really starting to revel in yanking his chain, or as Molly, often the ringleader, said, "winding him up".

'A slayer needs skill as well as strength' Giles told the group. 'If you let your opponent know your next move through sloppy technique you've immediately given away the advantages you've been given in speed and reaction times' he stated. 'Stephen is a skilled swordsman but Buffy would kill him in a fair fight and not just because she's the slayer. You could have her power' he said, pointing to Rona, 'but even if you did you'd still have a sore arm right now, it's just that the bruise would disappear a lot sooner' he told her.

'Perhaps Molly would like to go next' Stephen said placidly but there was definitely something in his eyes that was very unsettling.

The English girl blanched. 'I don't want to be hit with a stick' she declared.

'Then don't let him do it' Giles told her then turned to the boy. 'Just keep in mind that when they get their powers they'll be inclined to give you a damn good hiding if you provoke them too much now' he warned reasonably.

Stephen swished his bamboo cane through the air. 'I was taught this was the best way to learn swordplay in a hurry. Negative reinforcement and all that' he replied. 'The subconscious mind takes over the process, like falling down a lot teaches you how to walk' he said. 'Of course Mrs Wilderspin, the Academy Fencing Mistress, _was_ a bloody sadist' he admitted.

'You should have had _my_ Fencing Master' Giles replied with a shudder. 'Now then Molly' he said. 'Take your stance and try not to let young Stephen know in advance what you're about to do or he might be writing sonnets to that piece of bamboo tonight instead.'

Molly looked at Giles who smiled, as did Stephen after a fashion but the smirk of the latter was a lot more unsettling she thought readying her blunt training sword.

She did a lot better than Rona but the match still ended with a yelp as the Watcher Trainee feinted one direction then suddenly struck out in another to prod her in the midriff with his cane. 'Well done for making me have to work for it' he said to the surprised girl who was clutching her stomach where the stick had connected. She hadn't expected praise from the jerk but even less than that she hadn't expected to like it. Amanda had commented behind Molly's back that when _she_ liked a boy she tended to pick on them too, of course it was obvious to everyone, except Stephen who like most males was unbelievably dense when it came to that sort of thing, that Emily already regarded him as her property.

'Right, now form into pairs and practice the basics' Giles told them. 'Remember don't just watch the sword, watch the body language, look for the tensing of muscles and the shifting of weight from one foot to another' he advised. 'The sword is just an extension of the arm' he told them, 'move to counter before the thrust is attempted and it'll never get through' he continued. 'And also remember that a sudden counterattack against an opponent that has committed to a failed course of action, will be far harder for them to avoid, especially as they may have sacrificed their balance for what they thought was a killer blow.'

Giles looked at the girls. He hoped that something he might be able to teach them would end up saving their lives, he always seemed to care about that just a bit more than other Watchers, young Stephen for example was still very much in the Academy mindset of seeing them as weapons not people, but Giles saw that as a strength not a weakness. 'Never forget that the winner is the one that makes the second to last mistake, just don't be the one to make the very last one because it'll also likely be the last thing you'll ever do in your life' he told them seriously, there was little point in sugar-coating the reality of their new lives.

**Coffee Shop – Sunnydale – May 2003**

The teenager did a double-take and then stared for a second. 'Hey Miss Burkle' he said to the woman sitting at the table. 'I guess this is your sister?' he continued, looking at the woman sat next to her drinking a cappuccino. God that was dumb, he thought, they were _clearly_ twins, only the Teaching Assistants blue hair differentiated them.

'Good morning Larry' Illyria replied, looking up at the High School Student, 'Yes this is my sister Winifred' she told the boy. It was by far the most convenient cover story to maintain they were identical twins, anything else would have been implausible including of course the actual truth. 'Larry attends one of the classes I assist in' she told Fred.

Fred lowered her oversized cup. 'Nice to meet you' she said. 'Ria has been telling me how much she likes her new job' she told the boy, 'much more fun that working at the Lab she used to be at so she tells me.'

'And much less money of course' Illyria said continuing to maintain her back story, as of course was Fred. Quite a few families had already started to move out of town, somehow driven away by the malevolence spewing from the Hellmouth, and attendances at school were slipping but classes continued and Illyria still went to work there Monday to Friday, apparently warming to her invented alter-ego Ria.

Three girls joined Fred and Illyria, one looked to be about fourteen maybe, the other two a few years younger. They pulled up chairs and sat down with them.

Fred chuckled at the boys' expression. 'Twins run in our family' she explained. 'This is Jessica and Deborah' she said introducing the younger girls. 'And the lonely normal one is Emily, they're our cousins over from England for a few weeks.'

'Larry we're going to be late for the movie' a teenage girl Illyria didn't recognise called out across the room. Larry turned to her. 'I'll be right there' he called back. 'Nice to have met some of your family Miss Burkle, see you at school Monday' he said to Illyria then set off.

'Twins run in our family?' Emily whispered.

Fred grinned. 'I had to say something' she replied.

Jessica and Deborah were holding mugs of Hot Chocolate. 'She _does_ look lonely' Deborah observed, indicating Emily.

'It's like Attack of the Clones around here' Emily responded looking at Fred and Illyria then her own sisters. 'Freaky' she observed jokily and started on her own drink.

Fred looked at the twins. They had only just started to want to go out and even then they didn't like not having Stephen along. They both knew from stories they'd been told that Illyria was the toughest thing in town, or perhaps _anywhere_ for that matter, and her presence seemed to relax them a bit, but they still kept looking around nervously as if expecting Bringers to appear any moment to try and kill them again. Fred knew what it was to live constantly in fear, always at your guard, it was no way to live hopefully they'd get over it soon. If nothing else it was interfering with the normal process of grieving for their parents.

Illyria's indifference to the girls had changed slightly to a mild fascination with the twins. It was really a matter of how they could look the same but still be treated as different individuals. Although stuck with the Shells' form she wanted people, or being honest to herself she wanted _Wesley_, to stop seeing her as a Fred copy which of course was a primary reason for keeping not only the blue hair when adopting the Burkle persona but also having blue eyes, though not of course her own glacial blue within blue which would have looked too inhuman. Fred had brown hair and eyes and carried herself differently, less certain of herself than the imperious Illyria. Deborah similarly had a more confident manner than Jessica and unlike her twin would usually look you right in the eyes when speaking. It was little things like that that made them individuals, maybe even more than the fact that they wore their hair differently, though neither of course had blue locks.

Illyria did wonder however if Deborah _could_ get away with a blue streak in her hair. It would suit her she thought.

'Not having anything?' Emily asked Illyria, she was the only one without a drink.

'None of the liquid offerings available appealed and I have been told I am not allowed to eat any more cups' Illyria replied. 'Why are you laughing?' she queried as the others giggled.

'It's true' Fred told them laughing 'She ate one of Wesley's willow-pattern cups and he went ballistic. It was an antique set he bought with him from England' she told the girls.

Illyria frowned. 'It was blue and _did_ look appealing' she said. 'Nevertheless I had to promise not to do it again' she said.

'Do you always keep your promises?' Jessica asked, intrigued.

'As long as I made them in good faith to begin with' Illyria told her. 'If only because a reputation for deceit is not to be welcomed. It makes betrayal, when necessary, much more difficult' she explained pragmatically.

'What's it like to eat a cup?' Deborah asked curiously.

Illyria thought about that one. 'Crunchy but without much flavour' she replied. 'I would not suggest you try it yourself, your teeth and jaws would suffer badly and you could not handle the material with your digestive tract.'

'What's the worst thing you've eaten?' Jessica wanted to know.

'Bringer blood' Illyria replied. 'I used my teeth to rip out one of their throats in a melee battle' she told the child.

'Good' Jessica said in response, her expression shifting to a cold hate.

Illyria looked at the girl. 'You say that but I regretted doing it for hours, the taste was vile' she responded. Illyria found herself concerned by the girls' demeanour she was very sensitive to human moods, even though she wasn't quite able to understand them fully despite the remnants of the Shell. 'Have you ever seen a god on the verge of bringing her dinner back up?' she asked rhetorically. 'It's not pretty, I thought the others would make me walk back home. Neither Wesley nor Giles wanted me in their cars' she said.

Jessica laughed again and Fred looked at Illyria in mild surprise, she'd actually made a joke to lighten the mood and cheer up the girl. 'On the other hand' Fred noted. 'Wesley could have got his cup back if you had.'

'I think by that point he'd not wish to drink tea from it again anyway' Illyria reasoned. 'Even if we could have glued the pieces back together.'

**Wolfram and Hart Building – Los Angeles – May 2003**

'The Accounts Department are making very unhappy noises about her expenses' Lilah told Holland, having caught up with him just before he entered the boardroom. 'You wouldn't believe the email I got from Bob down there' she continued. 'He's auditing every purchase personally, the clothes bill alone...'

Holland shrugged. 'It would be a false economy not to accommodate her demands' he said interrupting. 'The financial losses we could incur if Illyria decides to drop in on the firm after finishing up in Sunnydale will be astronomical.'

'_Will_ be astronomical?' Lilah queried.

'We checked with our astrologers' Holland replied, knocking on the door to the boardroom and stepping inside. 'Glory you look even lovelier today than you did yesterday if you weren't a god I'd wonder how you managed such a seemingly impossible feat' he declared.

'Save it Manners' Glory replied. 'If I wanted toadying I'd bring in my own people for that, they're much better at it and I know they mean it' she said.

Another figure flashed into existence sitting across the table from Glory who frowned. 'Couldn't you maybe show a _little_ class and not look like that diminutive bitch?' she asked angrily.

The First took the hint and changed from looking like Buffy to someone Glory didn't know. Lilah had been keeping up with her research and recognised it as Caleb.

'Wolfram and Hart, The First Evil and Glorificus' Holland remarked, taking his own seat at the head of the table. 'What an alliance we make' he said.

Glory glared at him. 'Next time you say something like that my name had better come first or your bosses will have to bring you back to life again' she vowed. 'Now can we get on with it before my brother comes back?' she insisted.

'Is this _really_ the best you could do?' the First asked Holland indicating Glory with a nod. The HellGod for her part being well aware that she couldn't just throw him out the window for that remark, simply flicked her hair and examined her new jewellery courtesy of an apparently unlimited Wolfram and Hart expense account.

If Holland Manners had been just as incorporeal and invulnerable as The First he might have chuckled but as it was he kept his expression stony and professional, as did Lilah who had sat down next to him. 'Please remember that _you_ came to _us_ for help' he told The First. 'And as for Glory as well as her beauty she is the only being in this dimension that we can match against Illyria knowing that the Old One wouldn't simply crush her under her heel' he said.

Glory smirked at The First. 'Putting Vampires and Harbingers up against a God' she said derisively. 'Talk about bringing a knife to a gunfight' she said in her most sarcastic tones.

'Turok-Han _not_ ordinary vampires' The First replied in annoyance.

'Oh yeah, like that makes all the difference' Glory retorted. 'You were getting your ass kicked by Illyria and the Slayer and you went running off for help because you couldn't do the job yourself' she declared.

The First, still in Calebs' form looked at her and snorted. 'Abuse from a god that was beaten by a mere human, now that's rich' it retorted.

'Slayer _not_ a human' Glory defended herself.

'Oh yeah, like that makes all the difference' The First responded with a slight air of triumph.

Holland sighed. 'Can we please return to the intended purpose of this meeting' he requested. 'Namely what are we going to do about the Illyria situation?'

'You keep to your side of the bargain and send me back home with all my powers restored when I get there and I'll kill the bitch for you' Glory told him. 'And I'll throw in the slayer for free' she added with a vicious smile. That British guy that killed Ben was going to get it too, she'd rip him in half she decided.

The First shook its head. 'Perhaps "vainglorious" would be a better name for you' it stated. 'Illyria is not to be underestimated' he warned. 'I remember the thing from the old days and I'll bet the Senior Partners are nervous because they knew her too' he added.

Glory raised one of her hands. 'Super strength, super speed, near invulnerability' she said counting with her fingers. 'Well guess what, I'm _not_ impressed' she said, looking at her fingernails. 'And from what I've heard she can't use her portal jumping or time altering powers too much at once or she'll go boom' she added.

The First in Caleb's form rolled his eyes skywards. 'She's the Energizer Bunny compared to you' it said. 'A bit of magic and a few hits from a hammer and you turn back into your brother' he pointed out.

'It was a Troll-Gods' hammer and you left out the being hit by the wrecking ball just before' Glory said defensively.

'In any case' Holland interupted, trying to break up the quarrelling beings. 'We have a way both to stabilise Glory's control over herself for an extended period and to counter the slayers' Witch sidekick' he said.

'You do?' Glory asked curiously. These Wolfram and Hart people had continued to surprise her ever since they raised her, or rather her brother, from the dead. She still regarded them and their Senior Partners as being way down the food chain, quite literally as she had already sucked the brains out of two unfortunate lawyers and a secretary since she arrived, but they certainly had their moments.

Another being, obviously a demon, entered the room. It looked like it was on its last legs but looks could be deceiving.

'May I present Cyvus Vail our Senior Warlock in this realm and a major shareholder in the Firm' Holland announced.

Glory looked him over with distaste, even her minion Jinx had been better looking. 'Think he'll live long enough to get the job done?' she asked sarcastically.

'Don't underestimate me HellGod' Vail told her, taking a seat. 'Just carry out your part of the bargain' he said.

'What about footsoldiers?' The First asked. 'They've got numbers on their side for once.'

Lilah had been reading from a folder and looked up. 'Well we do think you should contribute _something_ to the war effort' she replied.

'My best forces are trapped the other side of the Seal of Danzalthar' the First replied. 'I can provide hundreds of Harbingers, I've been collecting them for weeks, but I do not believe they are strong enough' it admitted candidly.

'We were actually thinking of the Turok-Han' Lilah replied.

The First changed form to look like Lilah herself. 'The Seal' it said in her voice, 'Hello' it continued sardonically.

'The Senior Partners are going to force a portal into the Hellmouth that should enable us to pull a number of your elite troops through to our side' Lilah replied, ignoring the fact that she was now addressing her double. 'The power required is vast however so _don't_ expect us to do it again' she told it. 'Our resources are not unlimited' she said.

'And besides which you don't want me too strong' The First observed wryly. 'Don't worry I don't take it personally, it's better to be feared than loved' it opined.

Holland nodded in agreement. 'A student of Machiavelli' he noted appreciatively.

The First looked at him and chuckled. 'I was saying stuff like that when Machiavelli's distant ancestor hadn't evolved beyond the amoeba' it declared.

Glory had ignored the chat and was reading through a fashion magazine. 'Sorry to break up the party but I feel my stupid pointless lump of a brother returning' she said. 'Care to demonstrate you really can put him on ice?' she asked Vail.

The warlock looked at his watch. 'I'm due in another meeting in half an hour' he said. 'I'll give you ten minutes' he told the HellGod and raised his hands, starting to mouth a spell silently.

Glory felt Ben being pushed back in her mind. 'How long can you do that for?' she asked with interest, it was nice to keep control a little longer.

'It will become harder and harder with time until I have to let go, I cannot hold back the inevitable merely slow its march' Vail replied. 'Do us both a favour and use that time to good effect even if it's to run away' he advised.

'Just don't let the witch teleport me into the stratosphere' Glory told him. 'The falls a breeze but the landing at the end just _sucks_' she said, returning to her magazine. Oh I'd look good in that, she thought, not that I don't look good in everything.

The First sized Glory up. She may have the power but she just didn't have Illyria's edge and joy in battle. It wasn't confident but beggars can't be choosers and when it came to Mercenary Gods the pickings were slim. 'I'd drink a toast to our success but you know… incorporeal' it said, mimicking Lilah's voice and mannerisms exactly.

Holland Manners smiled and raised an imaginary glass. 'To new Alliances' he said.


	16. Chapter 16

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

**Summers Residence – Sunnydale – May 2003**

Willow took a breath and started to chant holding the amulet. 'Beatum sit in nomine D'Hoffrynis. Fiat hoc spatium porta ad mundum Arashmaharris' she intoned.

Expecting the flash of blinding light from the teleporting Willow had already closed her eyes and opened them again afterwards.

'Behold, D'Hoffryn. Lord of Arashmahaar. He that turns the air to blood and rains… oh it's you again' the vengeance demon said with a frown. 'This had better be a business call I was about to go out' he added then looked around the room. There were a lot of familiar faces none with welcoming expressions. 'Anyanka how nice to see you again. Still alive I see' he greeted Anya.

'No thanks to you' Anya replied angrily.

Buffy stepped closer and held up the scythe, judging from D'Hoffryns' reaction he was well aware of what it was and he contemplated it with a look that was somewhere between distaste and disquiet. 'This is very simple' Buffy told him. 'Call off your dogs and stop trying to kill Anya' she demanded. 'It's starting to get annoying and we're too busy to have to keep on dealing with mercenary demon assassins trying to collect on the bounty we know you've put on her head.'

D'Hoffryn chuckled. 'I'm a vengeance demon' he reminded her, 'the Lord of all Vengeance Demons in fact' he pointed out. 'Now how would it look to the rank and file if I showed forgiveness? I'd lose their respect, people would question my authority, I'd have to kill some of my staff to make an example and show them I've not gone soft… no it's all too much bother so I don't think I'll be doing that slayer. Are we done now?' he asked.

Buffy looked at the scythe. 'I know a sword in the guts won't get the job done but I'm betting this thing will' she said. 'I wasn't _asking_, I was _telling_' she informed the demon.

The Lord of Arashmahaar sighed. 'I could teleport away before you got close and you know it' he told the slayer. 'You're still trying to solve your problems the same way just with a different sharp object and it's no more effective than that sword you had last time if you can't actually touch me with it' he went on. 'You're just not fast enough' he said with a smirk.

A blur shot across the room and D'Hoffryn found himself on his knees in a strong headlock before he could do so much as think of teleporting. 'I could have ripped off your head easily, do not make me regret not doing it because I can make your demise much less quick and painless' a voice from behind said into his ear. D'Hoffryn had many times human strength but a brief struggle to break the grip around his neck was futile. He tried to teleport away but the hold on him was more than merely physical.

'Like they say in old westerns, no matter how fast you think you are there's always someone faster' Buffy told the demon and stepped forward to poke him in the ribs with the scythe. 'I guess the news that there was a new Sheriff in town hadn't reached you yet' she supposed. 'Illyria meet D'Hoffryn, Lord of Arashmahaar. D'Hoffryn meet Illyria, God-King of the Primordium. I think that King outranks Lord right?' she asked, poking the demon in the ribs again.

'I heard a rumour there was an Old One back in this realm but I did not credit it with the truth' D'Hoffryn said. 'You hear so many tall tales in my business. Why are you debasing yourself to association with these humans?' he asked. 'They should be worshipping at your feet, you should not be doing their grunt work.'

Illyria tightened her grip. 'I have my reasons for my course of action' she told him. 'They are no more your concern than they are theirs' she added indicating the humans. 'You will end your campaign against Anya or I will teach you the true meaning of the word vengeance' she told him darkly. 'You may be a gifted amateur but your knowledge and skill at the game are simply not at my level, do not think for an instant you could cross me and live.'

'Face it' Willow told D'Hoffryn. 'You're just not up to playing Pro' she continued with a wry smile directed towards Giles.

Buffy leaned over to look the vengeance demon directly in the eyes. 'We're feeling charitable so we're going to let you live. Don't think you'll get a second chance because you won't' she told him earnestly. 'Spread the word that Anya is off-limits, and stay out of our way in future, and we'll peacefully coexist' she continued before pushing the scythe hard into his chest. 'Fuck with us again and you'll regret the day you were spawned' she vowed, thinking the profanity appropriate.

The slayer straightened up and Illyria released her grip allowing the demon to get back up himself. 'If you'll forgive the observation' D'Hoffryn said. 'I find your new proactive attitude quite refreshing' he told Buffy. 'Your side are usually _so_ wishy-washy' he added appreciatively.

'We're trying out a new way of doing things' Buffy replied. 'It seems to get results.'

'Well I could have told you that years ago' D'Hoffryn told her. 'Good Day Anyanka' he said and teleported off with another flash of light.

'Think we can trust him?' Willow asked.

'Not a chance' Buffy replied honestly.

Illyria looked at them and frowned. She raised a hand and with a crack of thunder and the smell of ozone in the air a black spinning vortex appeared in front of her. With everybody staring in amazement the God-King reached an arm into the vortex and to their astonishment simply yanked D'Hoffryn back through it into the room.

'I trust I have made my point' Illyria told D'Hoffryn who looked more than a little perturbed himself by being suddenly grabbed by the scruff of the neck and being pulled sharply backwards through a hole in the space-time continuum. 'Do not think for a second that I cannot get to you wherever you go' she told the demon before shoving him back through the portal to where he had just teleported to.

Illyria closed the portal with another wave of her hand. 'That should ensure his compliance' she told Buffy. 'If you have any more trouble with that one' she added turning to Anya 'I will put his head on a pike in front of your home as a warning to others.'

'Well thanks' Anya said gratefully. 'Nice trick with the portal, beats my old teleporting days hands down' she told Illyria, clearly impressed.

'I didn't know she could do that' Willow said to Wesley. 'Did _you_ know she could do that?' she asked in amazement.

Wesley shook his head. 'She came here by portal, through time as well as space, but I thought there must be more to it than that' he said. 'It looked so… effortless' he said in awe.

'The effort is not in using my power it is in _not_ using it' Illyria told them. 'The shell is still not stable enough despite the…' she paused. 'Never mind it is not of your concern' she added cryptically.

'Okay… you can't fly can you' Xander asked, 'no X-Ray vision, retractable adamantium claws, any other powers we don't know of?' he checked. He was stood with Anya and had been holding her hand reassuringly when D'Hoffryn had been summoned.

Illyria thought about his query. 'I talk to plants, have I mentioned that?' she replied.

'Lots of people do' Willow said. 'My uncles a gardener and… oh you mean they talk _back_' she realised in surprise.

'More like singing' Illyria told her. 'Have you not noticed the improved condition of the plant-life in your garden?' she asked Buffy. 'That is my doing' she told the slayer.

Buffy thought about that. 'Well it's cool and all but I still think the opening portals and freezing time thing with a wave of your hand is more useful' she admitted.

'If you could hear the song of the green yourself you would not necessarily think so' Illyria told her. 'I need to go, Connor and I are due to patrol the outskirts of town tonight. Wesley will drive me to our rendezvous point.'

'Why not just portal there?' Wesley asked curiously.

'I have my reasons' Illyria replied. It would be best if they didn't know that excess use of her more arcane powers destabilised the shell. She could exercise them sparingly, but something as formerly simple as opening one portal too soon after another could be catastrophic. The less she used her powers the more she could use them when urgently required, the shell stabilised itself again over time as she had been told it would. 'Are you ready Wesley?' she asked. 'I will meet you by the car' she told him.

Wesley made to follow her out of the room but Buffy pulled him up. 'Is there anything about her _you_ know that I don't?' she demanded to know.

He shook his head. 'She's a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside a suit of red leather armour' he replied. 'Want me to pump her for information?' he asked.

Buffy smiled sweetly. 'Well I sometimes think she'd like that but no' she told him knowingly.

Wesley just looked very confused.

**Warehouse District – Sunnydale – May 2003**

'What did you _do_ Spike?' Angel demanded to know, swinging his broadsword to fend off another demon in the dark alleyway between two large warehouses.

The other ensouled vampire ducked under an attempted blow and retaliated with a hefty kick to the demons gut which sent it staggering backwards. 'Well I didn't know there would be _this_ many of the damn things when I burst into their lair' he said. 'Polgara's are usually thinner on the ground than this.'

Angels sword parried a thrust from the bone skewers on the nearest Polgara but then he swiftly had leap sideways to avoid another. 'Before the next time you decide to go out and pick a fight learn how to count better than "one, two, more" and carry a decent weapon you imbecile' he told Spike who was fighting with his bare hands.

'I like the crunch' Spike said smashing his fist hard into the face of yet another Polgara. There were at least twelve of them now and Spike was lucky Angel had heard his cry for help and had come running when he did, rapidly outpacing the rest of the team. Angel had almost crashed headlong into Spike who had been going the other direction with a pack of greenish-yellow demons hot on his tail.

'When they're snacking on your bones they'll like the crunch too' Angel retorted slamming his sword through a Polgara chest and pushing another away with his free hand.

A crossbow bolt appeared from nowhere and went through a Polgara's neck which sprayed blood everywhere.

With a roaring battle cry Gunn appeared swinging an axe which he used to cleave a Polgara almost clean in half. More crossbow bolts started to punch their way into the demon ranks as Fred reloaded and Cordelia joined in, they were both wearing night-vision gear which seemed at odds with their medieval weaponry but the combination was deadly and meant they could do serious damage without getting too close.

'Hooray the cavalry' Spike yelled out, grabbing a demon and headbutting it with a satisfying cracking sound as its face caved in.

'Guess that makes you the stupid homesteaders who don't have the brains to stay off the Indian Burial Ground and have to be saved' Angel yelled back, slashing with his sword.

'As long as it's not Custers Last Stand I don't give a shit' Gunn called out, getting more heavily embroiled in the melee. 'Where's our backup?' he called back to Cordelia as more and more Polgara demons continued to arrive faster than they could kill them.

A car screeched into the alley with a squeal of brakes and a figure jumped out and started running before it had even stopped moving. The sprinting Faith made a flying leap and bought a mace crashing down on a demons skull sending it straight to earth.

'Come on!' Kennedy practically screamed, bailing out of the car and sprinting towards the battle with a short-sword outstretched, tearing past Cordy and Fred en-route. Rona was barely just behind her, driven on by the adrenaline taking over her body, normally she would have considered running into a pack of killer demons twice her size nothing short of insane, but just then it seemed entirely the right thing to do. Rona simply drove her own sword right through the back of the demon directly in front of her using her momentum to push it on through then had to use all her strength to pull it back out as the demon collapsed. Caridad was slower off the mark but quickly joined Rona's side swinging an iron-studded club.

'Hold them!' Angel bellowed, fighting like a berserker warrior.

'Don't bond with them just bloody kill them' Spike retorted just as loud. 'Forget the touchy-feely crap' he joked, getting a grip on a Polgara's head and snapping its neck with a savage jerk.

Gunn decapitated a demon but lost his axe as another clubbed him aside with a powerful blow sending him sprawling. He rolled to the side, pulled an automatic pistol from his jacket and emptied a full magazine into the closest packed group of demons. It was only what he'd call a "Nine-Milli", a Sig-Sauer P226 from the arsenal they'd bought from Emil the Arms Dealer rather than one of the big .45s like Wes carried, but the fifteen rapid-fire shots he volleyed made an impression on the demons, and as a number fell or staggered back they lost the initiative.

With the three potentials backing her up Faith got into full swing and started to enjoy herself, shattering demon limbs and skulls with her heavy mace that only someone with superhuman strength could have wielded so effortlessly. The potentials were more cautious and after their initial shock charge had played it safer, not having her strength or perhaps not her foolhardiness.

'Break and run you bastards' Spike howled and found himself fighting back to back with Angel against an ever diminishing number of Polgara who were fighting as individuals not as a group and with no tactics whatsoever. If they'd had an ounce of brains between them the demons would have fought as a collective unit and overwhelmed their enemy, but they spent as much time in each others way as they did fighting, and by packing themselves in close together they had trouble using their deadly forearm bone-spikes effectively.

Cordelia and Fred had run out of crossbow bolts and had drawn swords, Fred a short-sword and Cordy a Japanese Katana she favoured, and the two of them joined in with the potentials who were now fighting as a solid skirmish line across the alley covering the person to both left and right. The Polgara charged the line one or two at a time and were hacked and clubbed to pieces.

Eventually the Polgara were outnumbered themselves and Kennedy howled and led a second charge as Faith killed the last one that was near her. Gunn had retrieved his axe and was fighting beside Angel and Spike against the last few when the girls arrived and overwhelmed the demons ending the fight in seconds.

Spike fell sideways. He was covered in wounds as was Angel who leaned into Gunn who caught him. Faith was bleeding heavily from a gash on her right thigh and more blood dripped into her left eye from a cut on her forehead but she limped over to the group grabbing Kennedy in a hug. 'Fucking A Ken' she told her and turning to the other girls. 'All of you' she said proudly.

'You're not going to leave me down here are you?' Spike asked. He had fallen across the body of a still twitching Polgara and looked a mess.

'We should' Angel replied. 'Don't you ever do that again' he told him.

'I've learned my lesson' Spike replied.

'Bullshit' Angel retorted. 'You never do' he complained.

Rona reached an arm down to Spike and with Caridads help hauled him back to his feet. 'Some of these things aren't dead yet' she pointed out.

'Alright you know the drill' Faith told the potentials. 'Anything still with a head loses it' she ordered. 'Then we get the gas can from the back of the car and torch the fucking lot' she added.

Cordelia appeared beside Gunn. 'I'll take Angel if you want to put your axe to good use' she told him and moved to steady the vampire.

Spike looked around at all the Polgara bodies then to Angel's battered form. 'You've got to admit that was fun' he said, grinning.

'I hate you Spike' Angel told him with all the sincerity he could muster as he continued dripping more blood into the pool that was collecting in the alley.

**Woodland - Outskirts of Sunnydale – May 2003 **

'You know that that can't kill me' the vampire declared with a condescending laugh.

'That's true' Wesley admitted and depressed the trigger on his assault rifle, which was set on fully-automatic and which promptly blew thirty holes right though the vampires torso in just under two and a half seconds. Wesley fighting hard against the recoil. 'More than a little incapacitating though' he added as the vampire fell backwards, its chest and gut a bloody mess.

Wesley ejected the empty clip and reloaded before pulling a stake from his pocket and dusting the vampire which was barely able to resist. It was obviously recently sired and had never actually been shot before, because it didn't seem to realise the world of difference between can't _kill_ and can't _hurt_.

'I heard gunfire, I thought it would be you' Illyria's familiar, not-quite-Freds' voice said from behind. 'You should not have left the vehicle it is dangerous for you to hunt alone' she told him.

Wesley turned and smiled. 'We rogue demon hunters like to strike out alone once in a while' he replied half-jokingly. 'It keeps us sharp' he told her. 'Where's Connor? You left _him_ alone' he pointed out.

'The Halfbreed's son is much stronger and resilient than you, and could either defeat or outpace most foes. You are far more fragile' Illyria responded.

'There are scars on my body that would dispute the notion I'm all _that_ fragile' Wesley told her with a wry smile.

'If you were not fragile those injuries would not have left you with a permanent mark' Illyria retorted. 'You must be more careful' she said.

'Your concern for our welfare is appreciated' Wesley replied. 'I assume your opinion of humanity is improving?' he asked.

The Old One looked at him. They were alone together in the woods after dark and nobody else was around. It was as good a time as any she decided. 'It is your welfare as an individual that concerns me, not that of your species' she admitted.

'Really?' Wesley replied, raising an eyebrow. 'I know you consider me your guide, as you say I also was in the other timeline, but I did not think I mattered _that_ much' he said. 'Is there a reason I am so special?' he asked.

Illyria narrowed her eyes, he wasn't getting this at all. The memories of the shell had indicated his inability to grasp the obvious in such a situation but fortunately the same memories also provided a solution that had worked previously for Fred. 'Oh screw it' Illyria declared and changing to the appearance of her more human persona "Ria" stepped forward and kissed Wesley on the lips.

The watcher almost dropped his rifle.

'Well?' Illyria queried. 'That was a signal was it clear enough?' she asked.

Wesley just stared back at her in surprise.

'Not the reaction I hoped for' Illyria observed and tried again, kissing him a second time. 'Am I doing this wrong?' she queried in confusion.

'Wuh… why?' Wesley finally managed to get out. 'Why did you do that?' he asked nonplussed.

Illyria shook her head. 'Why do you think?' she retorted, struck by the urge to roll her eyes as a human might. 'I have feelings for you, I do not think they are really mine, but they seem as real and I cannot get rid of them so this seems the only solution, distasteful though I find it on another level' she said.

'Feelings?' Wesley repeated, still taken aback.

'Romantic feelings' Illyria told him and then really decided to bite the bullet and get it over with. 'The shell, I mean Fred, and you had just become lovers shortly before…'

'Fred and I were lovers?' Wesley repeated.

'Do not interrupt' Illyria told him curtly before continuing. 'Before I took over her form, and despite my own preferences on the matter, I inherited those feelings and I _cannot_ rid myself of them' she explained. 'It took me a long while to work out what they were, In my original form I would not have even been _capable_ of them, nor would I have ever desired to be, but I _am_ stuck with them.'

Wesley took a breath. 'These feelings are not really yours, they will fade with time' he told her.

'No they _won't_' Illyria snapped back. 'They are as intrinsic to this form as the shell itself, they are imprinted upon me. It is not like human passion which may fade over time or merely go away' she told him and looked away. 'I love you, I cannot ever _not_ love you, and I always _will_ love you' she stated. 'And if that bothers you imagine my side of the situation' she asked of him.

He looked at her and contemplated her words. 'It's terrible' he responded, with a sympathy for her that surprised him.

Illyria nodded. 'If I believed in the concept of karma I would think it Fred's ultimate revenge upon me for her death' she told him. 'The best possible result I can envision is that we become lovers and it stops hurting so much not to be with you.'

Wesley's eyes widened. 'Were we before?' he asked. 'The other me I mean.'

Illyria looked to the ground. 'The Wesley from the original timeline hated me for Freds' death, he would have never accepted me' she told him quietly. 'But _you_ do not hate me, so you can' she continued more forcefully.

'Illyria you're not…. You're not human' Wesley reminded her.

The God-King looked directly him in the eye, it was unnerving in its intensity. 'Both Angel and Spike are half-breeds yet both were taken by Buffy as a lover' she responded. 'Anya and Xander were nearly wed and he _still_ had feelings for her when she became a vengeance demon again and even the witch Willow had a werewolf as a lover at one point' she argued. 'Cordelia is part demon to prevent her visions killing her do you hate her for it? Find her to be less than a real person?' she asked.

Wesley blinked. 'Well no' he admitted.

'Do you find me physically unattractive?' Illyria asked.

'No' he also admitted, shaking his head.

'Then I fail to see your problem' Illyria stated. 'You may not love me… yet… but I will work on that and in the meantime I am willing to sleep with you' she told him.

Wesley nearly choked. 'That won't be necessary' he replied.

'You are not sleeping with anyone else are you?' Illyria demanded to know, narrowing her eyes. She would deal with any rival for his affections swiftly and ruthlessly.

'No I'm not as it happens' Wesley replied, 'I just… I find the idea of sleeping with you…'

'Unappealing?' Illyria asked with a rising feeling of panic. 'Is it the hair colour because I will change it?' she offered hoping it wasn't. Illyria was blue and proud.

Wesley swallowed. 'No it's just… strange to think about' he told her.

Illyria relaxed. 'You will get used to the idea' she told him confidently then moved in to kiss him again. The response was still unsatisfactory, he just let her and did not participate in the kiss as such, but he didn't actually pull away, or look astonished again, which was a start. 'I have clearly given you much to consider' she told him. 'I will not pressure you I just needed you to know' she said.

'Illyria…' Wesley began. 'I know what its like to love someone and not have them love you back I'm very sorry for you' he sympathised.

The Shaper of Things directed her fierce gaze at him again. 'I do not need your sorrow' she responded, 'I will conquer you as I have conquered empires' she declared with all her fire and certainty returning. 'The idea of defeat in either love or war is equally abhorrent and I will not taste it again' she declared.

Looking at her Wesley was struck by the sudden realisation that he didn't really know if he wanted to be "conquered" or not. One thing else was for certain, he had never, ever, imagined he might end up as the Boy Toy to an ancient Demon Goddess. If it had worked out that way for Xander he pondered, very few would have been all that surprised.

Regarding Illyria in a new light it dawned on him that despite everything else she was probably still a big step up from Lilah on the evil stakes anyhow, before something else suddenly occurred to him as well. 'Umm Illyria I've been meaning to ask whether you read through my private journals' he questioned. It was a bigger issue now he thought of her as not so much a dispassionate observer of humanity as much as a _possible_ participant in his life.

Illyria nodded in response. 'I went back and retrieved them after your death, I wanted something of yours and they were the most personal thing I could find' she explained.

'Right' he replied, taking a sharp intake of breath. 'Did you read them all?' he asked anxiously.

'Yes' Illyria confirmed.

'Ah' he murmured, unable to look her in the eyes. It was highly embarassing.

'I do not think some of the things you described in the text are physically possible, nor can I imagine them pleasurable in any case, but I would be willing to try them' the God-King offered as an enticement.

Wesley winced and wished he had a less active imagination.


	17. Chapter 17

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

**Crawford Street Mansion – Sunnydale – May 2003**

'Calm down or I'll put you down Connor I mean it' Faith told him, pushing the boy backwards. God he was strong, she thought, barely able to keep a grip on him despite her slayer strength.

'Let the wanker go' Stephen hissed. 'I'm not scared of the freak' he declared, instantly receiving a slap across the face from Cordelia who had also dived in between the two teenagers when Faith did. 'What the fuck was that for?' he wanted to know.

'For being an asshole and to get your attention' Cordelia told him angrily. 'Now back off or we'll _let_ Connor rip your head off' she told him.

Stephen tried to push around her. 'Come on then' he bellowed at Connor.

A pair of hands grabbed the Watcher trainee from behind and pulled him away. 'He'd beat the living shite out of you without breaking a sweat' Spike told him hauling him away.

'Get your fucking hands off me vampire' Stephen growled, his arms pinned to his sides by Spike.

Spike responded by strengthening his grip and easily held him in place, he struggled but he wasn't anywhere near strong enough to break the vampires hold.

Faith had managed to push Connor back to the wall and was keeping him there, his face a mask of fury. 'He hit me' Connor said. 'I wasn't doing a damn thing and he punched me in the face' he complained with justification.

'I saw, and it's a good thing I did because you were going to hit him back and you'd have broken his jaw or maybe his fucking neck' Faith responded. 'Now calm down' she ordered.

'Stephen what the hell's gotten into you?' Emily practically screamed at the boy. 'Stop it' she said.

Eyes still blazing Stephen looked at the girl and gritted his teeth. He stopped struggling and eventually Spike loosened his grip slightly though not enough to let him have another lunge at Connor. He was breathing heavily and looked unbelievably pissed-off.

'Take him into the next room' Faith told Spike who promptly began to drag him away though without too much resistance. As he disappeared Connor started to relax too and Faith let go of him. 'Look I know he deserved it but you can't retaliate to crap like that, you could kill someone, if you have to, put them in a lock or something but don't hit them back unless you've got enough control to pull the punch' the slayer told Connor. 'Ordinary humans break real easily, they're not like us' she reminded him.

'So I'm just supposed to let some prick hit me and get away with it?' Connor complained bitterly. 'Screw that' he said.

Angel burst into the room. 'What the hell was all that yelling about?' he demanded to know

'Watcher-Boy slugged Connor' Cordelia told him. 'Faith broke it up and Spike's dragged him into the next room.'

Angel looked at Connor. 'What did you do?' he demanded to know.

Connor glared at his father. 'I didn't do anything' he snapped back. 'We weren't even talking, he just punched me in the face.'

'That's about the size of it' Cordelia agreed. 'Stephen just lost it.'

Faith looked at Angel. 'There's a bit more to it than that, can you watch Connor?' she requested. Angel nodded and she turned away and pointed to Emily 'Come with me' she ordered, and stamped off towards the staircase the girl following behind looking confused.

When they reached the top of the stairs Faith turned back and pushed Emily against the wall, standing there nose to nose with the girl, one arm against the wall pinning her there without actually touching her. 'Happy are we?' she asked coldly.

'What?' Emily replied nervously.

'Your little ploy?' Faith told her. 'Did you like the results?' she asked.

Emily paled. 'I don't know what…'

'Bullshit' Faith interrupted her. 'Flirt with Connor, wear that short skirt, bend over to pick something up so he checks you out. Get D'Artagnon jealous. Work out like you planned did it?' she asked again sarcastically.

Emily couldn't meet her gaze. 'I didn't think he'd hit him' she replied softly.

Faith shook her head and pulled back away. 'Men are idiots, teenage boys are _hormonal_ idiots, and the ones that are wrapped up way too tight are _dangerous_, hormonal idiots' she told the girl. 'It's pretty clear Wesley the Next Generation likes you, why the goddamn act?'

Emily looked at her apologetically. 'I thought he just saw me as a kid like my sisters' she said. 'He never even looked twice at me at the Academy. I wanted him to see me differently' she explained.

'Jesus Christ Watcherette' Faith exclaimed. 'Stevey-boy has been looking at you like he's warm for your form ever since you two arrived. Couldn't you have just tried the direct approach before trying to fuck with his head?'

The girl blushed. 'I've never had a boyfriend I don't really know…'

Faith put her head in her hands for a few seconds then took them away to look at her again. 'Right here's the skinny' she began. 'Look him in the eyes and take his hand in yours' she said. 'Give him a smile and maybe kiss him if he doesn't try to kiss you first' she told the girl.

Emily blushed even harder. 'And then what?'

'If you want to make his day put your tongue down his throat and his hand inside your shirt' Faith replied. 'But if you want to _keep_ him, let him work up to that' she advised. 'Oh yeah, FYI, men are like those big Oil Tankers you see on the news that take like seven miles to stop once they get moving' she said. 'Don't get them going unless you mean it, the decent ones will stop but they still won't be happy about it' she told her. 'One more thing, you're underage and he's nearly eighteen, let's avoid anything that will have Buffy kicking my ass if she finds out we had this conversation okay? I know we're facing a watcher shortage right now but nobody is talking about a breeding program yet and if they _do_ we'll talk to some guys from the zoo about what they do with Panda's first' she joked.

'Okay' Emily told her, grinning slightly. 'What should we do about Connor?' she asked, her grin rapidly disappearing again.

Faith thought about it. 'Give him time to calm down and then you make Stephen apologise to him.'

'Me?' Emily asked.

'You caused it. You clean the mess up' Faith replied. 'You break it, you pay for it' she added for emphasis. 'Am I getting through here?' she asked coldly.

'Yes' Emily replied sheepishly. 'I'm sorry' she apologised.

Faith looked at her sternly. 'And if I'm _ever_ in this position again I'm going to bitchslap the Lime flavouring out of you' she promised.

Emily smiled. 'Sounds fair' she replied.

**Shadow Valley Vineyards – May 2003**

The tunnels and caverns were not well suited to this sort of thing acoustically, it was far too loud and the echoes went on forever, but that could be countered by decent ear protection and at least practising underground meant there were no prying eyes.

'Congratulations Shannon you are the only person to miss the target completely, can we give her a round of applause please ladies?' Wesley told her in his most sarcastic tone. He wouldn't usually be so cruel but she hadn't even tried and had completely ignored everything he said, right down to closing her eyes when firing.

As the potentials clapped and whooped Shannon went bright red. 'I said I didn't like guns' she reminded him. She was still recovering from the wound Caleb had inflicted on her with his knife and was only just now starting to train at all.

'I'm sure the feeling is mutual' Wesley told her. 'Don't worry about it, just make damn sure to do better with your other lessons or you _will_ die' he said bluntly. 'No actually you _should_ worry about it' he added seriously. 'Next please' he said picking up the pistol Shannon had put down on the empty wine barrel they were using as a table, and ejecting the empty magazine. He was only giving them clips with five shots loaded and had a number ready to go.

Vi stepped forward and took the pistol from his hands nervously. She raised the nine-millimetre and sighted along the barrel.

'When you're ready' Wesley told her.

The potential squeezed the trigger and the pistol bucked in her hands. She grimaced slightly then fired again at the man-shaped paper target set up down the tunnel. She fired three more times then baulked at Wesley's expression. 'Did I do something wrong?' she asked, her voice quavering.

Wesley looked back and forth between the target and the girl. 'Where the bloody hell did you learn to do that?' he asked incredulously.

'Do what?' Vi asked. 'What did I do?'

Wesley looked at her in surprise. 'You've never fired a handgun before?' he queried.

'No' the girl replied. 'I've played those games with the plastic guns at the arcades though' Vi told him.

Wesley regarded her in a new light. 'Might have been luck' he said after a pause, taking her empty pistol and handing her another one. 'There's a full magazine in there, fifteen shots, burn them off quick as you like' he told her.

Vi threw him a puzzled look and raised the automatic. She started firing and after the first few shots she found she could compensate for the recoil and shoot fast while still aiming. The slide soon locked back as the magazine ran out.

'Well who would have thought?' Wesley said grinning. 'Congratulations you're a natural shot' he told her. 'Some people are just good at it and you're one of them' he informed the girl who looked at the gun in surprise.

'I am?' she asked in amazement, looking from the pistol to him and back again.

Wesley nodded. 'I'm not saying you're Annie Oakley but with practice you could be an exceptional markswoman' he told her seriously. 'If you want we can schedule extra lessons' he told her, taking the empty pistol from her hands.

'Um… okay' Vi replied and turned back to rejoin the group who were now looking at her very strangely.

'Who were you in a previous life?' Rona asked. 'Bonnie Parker?' she asked jokingly. Vi had shot the centre right out of the target, in a grouping of holes that only Wes had bettered himself when he showed them what to do.

'I guess I'm just good at it' Vi replied, unable to hold back a smile.

'Well if we ever need to hold up a convenience store we know who to bring along' Kennedy announced. Her own efforts earlier hadn't been half as good.

'Alright alright' Wesley interrupted. 'We'll get her a knitted holster to match her hat' he said sardonically. 'Can I have the next contestant please?' he requested. 'You might think that this is something you'll get better at when you're activated' he told the others, 'but from what I hear Buffy is bloody-awful with a gun so don't count on it.'

A hand went up at the back of the group. 'Why don't we use wooden bullets?' asked a potential with a very distinct French accent. 'I mean we could dust vampires easily' she suggested.

'The short answer Dominique is physics' Wesley replied. 'When you get right down to it a bullet does damage because of momentum, energy transfer really.' he told the group. 'A piece of metal will have an awful lot of impact if you get it moving fast enough, momentum being mass multiplied by velocity as I hope you all know' he explained. 'A piece of wood the same size as a bullet would have a fraction of the mass of a piece of lead, so even if you fired them at the same velocity, the former will only have a small percentage of the impact and penetration' he continued. 'It would cause considerably less trauma and not drive itself very far inside either' he told them. 'Wood only works if it gets to the heart' he said pounding the left side of his chest.

'But an arrow…' Dominique protested.

'Is _how_ many times larger than the bit of lead on the end of this?' Wesley asked rhetorically, holding up a bullet. 'The velocity on a crossbow is lower than a pistol but the size of the projectile more than makes up for it' he declared. 'Mass multiplied by velocity' he repeated, 'you need one or the other, and preferably _both_ hence the ongoing popularity of supersonic lead as a means to end an argument.'

'Oh, I see' the girl conceded sheepishly, it did make sense explained like that she thought.

Wesley smiled at her. 'It's not stupid to ask questions' he told her ' it's stupid not to' he said. 'For tomorrows physics lecture our guest speaker Winifred Burkle will be explaining the Theory of Relativity' he joked to the group, 'but for today it's still "Big-Bangs 101" with Professor Wyndham-Pryce' he said. 'And can I have the next student to the front of the class please?' he asked, preparing another pistol.

**Summers Residence – Sunnydale – May 2003**

There was definitely tension in the air Buffy noted and it wasn't between Connor and Stephen despite their fracas earlier, though they were certainly avoiding each other, the obvious undercurrent in the room was that Wesley was highly agitated by Illyria's presence, and kept looking at her every time she was looking elsewhere, but nonetheless avoided looking her in the eyes. It was true that in her default appearance the God-Kings glacial blue eyes were difficult to look at for some but Wes had always been more fascinated than repelled by her until now. Something must have happened between them, Buffy thought. Maybe he found out something disturbing about her that was bothering him, she wondered, making a mental note to quiz him about it later.

'Alright' Buffy began looking around the densely packed living room and speaking up for the benefit of those that couldn't fit inside and were in adjacent rooms straining to hear. 'I'm sure this is the news all you potentials have been itching for but we're going to activate you tomorrow' she told them.

Buffy let the enthusiastic cries and comments die out before continuing. 'Giles has suggested that we do not go straight down to the hellmouth right away but instead we let you get used to your new powers and adjust properly to the difference they'll make in how you move and fight, because you will feel and move a lot differently, right Faith?' she asked the other slayer.

'Right' Faith agreed. 'If we just activated you and sent you straight into action you'd be fighting blind and that would be dumb' she said. 'Isn't that what you actually did though B? In the timeline Blue came from?' she asked in amusement. Faith couldn't resist the urge to yank Buffy's chain sometimes.

'It _worked_ didn't it?' Buffy snapped back, looking at Illyria for confirmation.

Illyria nodded. 'I have been told to be diplomatic, so I will not mention what percentage of your forces were killed in that action' she replied, less than diplomatically as it turned out. In fact the God-King with her superior knowledge of how to lead armies of soldiers, rather than gangs of warriors, considered Buffy's tactical deployment of her troops in the original timeline absolutely horrendous and an appalling waste of resources. The freshly activated potentials had not even fought as a solid line but rather as lone warriors in the old slayer tradition. The failure to adapt had been unnecessarily costly. A wall of slayers would have minimised losses, maximised enemy fatalities and prevented stray Turok-Han escaping through the open seal.

Buffy scowled and continued. 'Once you've got used to the new you' she said, 'we'll go down, open the seal, burn and blow as many of them to dust as we can then take the war to them. Old-School.'

'Where does the amulet come in?' Willow asked. 'We _still_ don't know that' she said to Illyria. 'We've been waiting but you haven't ever let us know.'

Illyria turned to her. 'I suppose I have waited long enough' she responded. 'Spike will put on the amulet which will activate after several minutes beneath the seal and he will become a conduit for cleansing energy which will destroy the Turok-Han and also drop the whole town into a sinkhole as the hellmouth cavern collapses' she said.

'And you're telling us this _now_?' Buffy gasped through a cacophany of raised voices.

'I did not wish Spike's last few weeks to be bothered by thoughts of his certain demise' Illyria replied, reasonably she thought.

'My certain _what_?' Spike yelled.

'You do not think you could live through such an event do you?' Illyria asked rhetorically. 'You completely disintegrate in the process and die saving your world. As good a death as _any _could aspire to I would think' she opined.

'I aspire _not_ to die' Spike retorted.

Illyria rocked her head to its side. 'Only a being with a soul, that is nonetheless stronger than a human can wear the amulet' she told him.

'I'll do it' Angel volunteered selflessly.

Spike span to look at him. 'Glory hog' he snarled.

'We do not know for absolute certain it would work with you' Illyria told Angel. 'But if Spike is unwilling you will have to. We cannot defeat the entire force of Turok-Han without it…' Illyria stated then turned to Buffy changing her expression. 'Unless you were to reconsider my suggestion of stealing a thermonuclear device, in which case we could simply turn the entire hellmouth and the Firsts' Army to radioactive ash in a nanosecond and save ourselves much effort' she pointed out.

'We are _not_ Nuking Sunnydale' Buffy told her flatly.

'But if it's going to fall into a big hole anyway…' Spike interjected.

'Not happening' Buffy said with finality.

Spike blinked. 'Then I'll wear the damn jewellery and save the world' he agreed. 'If nothing else it'll haunt the big poofters' dreams to know I did it not him' he said with a grin directed at Angel. 'I'll be a bloody world saving champion hero and you'll still be just a dead Irish tosser that wears too much hair-gell.'

'Watch it Spike' Angel warned then his words petered out. 'That asshole saves the world?' he asked Illyria.

'Yes' she answered, then turning to Spike added 'Your actions do indeed come to haunt Angel' she told him, demonstrating to herself that she had mastered what the humans called deadpan humour but regretting that she was unfortunately unable to tell anyone about it or it would _completely_ ruin the surprise.

'Shit' Angel swore. The thing that really bites, he thought, was that now he'd have to be nice to the bastard or he'd feel guilty about it afterwards. And what grated more was that he hadn't even done anything to deserve it yet.

'Spike really saves the world?' Anya asked. 'Yay Spike!' she said enthusiastically.

Xander looked at her. 'Hey I've saved the world too' he pointed out. 'And how many times has the Buffster done it?' he asked. 'Lets not blow this out of proportion' he told everyone, with Spike looking daggers at him.

Illyria considered pointing out she was currently undertaking a mission of her own devising that was aimed at saving the entire _multiverse_ from evil, not just one tiny planet, but the humans couldn't really comprehend the near infinite difference in scale involved so she just _felt_ smug and superior about it instead.

**Outskirts of Sunnydale – May 2003**

The black Hummer four-wheel-drive pulled up by the side of the road and a Wolfram and Hart mercenary got out to inspect the body laying there. It looked like it had dragged itself for miles with a crossbow bolt in its back and sword wounds all over it.

The mercenary turned it over, he had of course been trained to recognise most of the creatures that the Firm dealt with and he quickly identified it. 'Fyarl Demon' he reported. 'Looks like the other side caught up to it' he commented. Rumour was that this was a dangerous town for demons, especially these days. 'Only been dead a few minutes' he estimated.

A blond woman, who had gotten out from the other side of the vehicle, walked over to join the mercenary and looked down at the poor hapless demon at their feet. 'Yep' Glory said. 'Guess I'm back in Sunnydale.'


	18. Chapter 18

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN**

**Sunnydale High School – Sunnydale – May 2003**

'Room to breathe' Faith declared, stretching out her arms and slumping back into a seat by the edge of the basketball court. 'Not going to play?' she asked Robin Wood sitting nearby who was watching an impromptu basketball game between a mix of potentials and others.

'Not my speed' Wood replied, turning to face the slayer. 'Anyhow, seeing as how I cancelled this evenings practice to let you use the court instead, imagine if someone ratted me out and told the student body I was shooting hoops here instead' he said. 'The school board would have my head on a stick' he declared.

Faith laughed. 'From what I hear you've only just got enough of a student body left to fill out the team' she said, watching the game with mild interest.

Wood shrugged. 'Lost more than two-thirds of the faculty too' he admitted. 'People are leaving the town in droves, anyone would think there was something strange going on in Sunnydale' he said in puzzlement.

'Paranoia' Faith replied, turning away from watching the game to observe the witch Willow setting up to cast a spell with the assistance of a near immortal Guardian and with an ancient Demon God watching over the proceeding with interest. 'Just another normal day in an ordinary California town' she said putting her feet up on the row of chairs in front.

Down on the court Gunn passed to Wesley. 'Shoot English' he yelled and the former watcher made a shot at the basket. He couldn't actually play basketball worth a damn otherwise but he could throw just about anything accurately and he was a lot taller than the majority of the girls which helped a lot.

He still missed though and the ball was caught on the rebound from the hoop by Kennedy who turned and quickly passed off to Connor. Once that guy got moving there was no catching him.

Well except of course for his Dad, who jumped up and intercepted the ball with inhuman reflexes, and started looking for an opening, Connor had already sprinted up to close him down and he looked for somewhere to pass it instead. 'I'm clear' Rona told him and he feinted to swerve left before passing to the potential.

Spike intercepted and darted past two girls before passing back to Gunn who made a shot himself. 'Nothing but net' he yelled triumphantly as the basketball sailed through the air and dropped straight through the hoop. 'And you are _toast_' he told the other team.

'We are _so_ doing this again after we've been activated' Kennedy told Angel, breathing heavily.

'Hey! Human here' Gunn pointed out, raising his hand. 'Not my fault you white people can't keep up without the superpowers' he joked then turned to Wesley. 'I thought you never missed?' he asked his friend, grinning.

'I'd like to see you play Cricket' Wesley replied in mock defensiveness. 'Bloody silly American game' he added with a chuckle.

'I watched WG play a few times you know' Spike told Wesley, overhearing his conversation with Gunn. 'Before I got turned that is, outdoor summer games not too good for the complexion' he said wryly. 'I don't tan like I used to' he noted.

Wesley looked at the vampire in surprise. 'Was he as good as they say?' he asked.

'I watched him score 344 for the MCC against Kent back in 1876 I think it was' Spike replied. 'He got over twenty-five hundred runs that year and they were harder to get back then' Spike told him. 'He wasn't just good, he was bloody phenomenal.'

'What the hell are you talking about?' Gunn wanted to know.

'William Gilbert Grace' Wesley replied, 'known to cricket fans everywhere as "WG". The Michael Jordan of the 19th Century so to speak' he explained. 'Rupert' he called over to the older watcher. 'Spike here saw WG play' he told him.

Giles looked over with raised eyebrows. 'He never mentioned that to me' he replied.

Spike shrugged. 'It's funny what else matters when you get your soul back' he explained.

'I never understood what the English saw in that game' Angel commented.

Spike looked at him askance and snorted. 'The Irish invented Hurling and Gaelic Football which are only played in sodding Ireland' he retorted. 'The British invented Football, Rugby, Cricket, Golf and Tennis which are played right across the globe' he pointed out. 'I think we've got the edge on understanding what makes for a decent bleeding sport' he declared.

Angel looked around the room and noted the disproportionate number of Brits nodding in agreement with Spike. They'd increased in number so gradually he'd barely noticed. He thought about it and headed over to Buffy who had been talking to Xander. 'A word of warning' he told her. 'Take it from an Irishman. Beware the British in large numbers' he cautioned. 'When you've only got a couple you've got politeness and the dry wit, but keep allowing them to congregate and you'll end up with Soccer Hooliganism or Empire mark my words' he said with mock seriousness. 'If any more of them turn up at your door send them away or they'll start thinking they can take back the Thirteen Colonies.'

'Bugger' Giles said loudly, turning to Stephen who was sat next to him with Emily and her sisters. 'He's onto us.'

'Right you two' Wesley told Molly and Natasha who had joined in the game, although netball was more their speed. 'You distract the Colonials and we'll raise the Union Jack on the flagpole out front while we've still got the element of surprise' he instructed the pair.

Angel shook his head sadly. 'This is how it starts you know' he said. 'The King of Leinster invited them over in 1167 and we've been trying to get rid of them again ever since' he muttered.

'The Mick knows too much' Spike deadpanned. 'Quick somebody drug his Guinness… or just give him a really big barrel of the stuff and let him drug himself.'

'Soccer hooliganism or Empire I'm telling you' Angel repeated with a knowing expression. 'You know why the Sun never set on the Union Jack? It's because God didn't trust the Brits in the dark.'

Stephen ignored the second half of Angels' diatribe and looked at Giles. 'Soccer?' he queried. 'Isn't that what they call football here?' he asked.

Giles nodded. 'They don't seem to grasp that, by definition, any game called "Football" should be primarily played with the feet' he replied. 'You'd think it would be blatantly obvious?' he continued in feigned puzzlement.

'Alright that's enough' Buffy declared. 'Anyone else from the Mother-Country says one word and I'll throw their tea in the harbour' she said. The slayer smirked at their reaction. That did the trick she thought, threaten what they hold most dear.

'I'm nearly ready' Willow announced, making herself comfortable sitting cross-legged at the far end of the court.

Illyria looked down at her. 'I will go outside' she told the witch. 'Any magicks involving the scythe may react badly to my presence' she explained. 'Or _I_ may react badly to theirs' the God-King added with a mild touch of apprehension. Back in her original form, countless millennia ago, Illyria would have laughed at such puny magicks, now though she wasn't so sure if her shell was sufficiently hardy to deflect them.

'Are we expecting something spectacular?' Dawn asked Illyria, as she strode down the court.

'I was not there last time I do not know the specifics' Illyria replied. 'I was told something about a "new look" for Willow but as to what that meant I am not certain' she informed Dawn off-handedly, continuing on her way.

Continuing on she stopped next to Wesley. 'I would like to talk to you' she told him.

Wesley looked less than enthused but nodded his agreement and followed Illyria outside. Cordelia frowned and watched them leave together. 'There's definitely something going on with those two' she told Fred who was sat with her drawing little plans of mechanical things on a notepad. Cordelia had earlier tried to persuade her to join her in starting up a cheer for the basketball players but cheerleading wasn't really a Fred thing.

Fred looked up from her drawing. 'Illyria and Wesley?' she queried. 'I think she's lonely' she told Cordelia.

'Lonely?' Cordy responded, raising her eyebrows.

'Yes' Fred confirmed with a nod. 'We've talked a few times and for all the bluster she's completely lost in our world' she told Cordelia. 'I think she finds Wesley… comforting somehow' she theorised. 'Did you know that Illyria is claustrophobic?' she asked randomly.

'No' Cordelia replied, taken even more aback at such a human weakness.

Fred smiled gently. 'Well she is, she told me' she said. 'The funny thing is I find small places comforting, like my cave on Pylea, but if she's not busy the walls close in on her and she gets nervous, or maybe agitated, and has to go outside and look at the sky.'

'I'm kinda surprised she told you that' Cordelia remarked.

Fred nodded. So was I at first but I figured out it was something else that made us different' she said. 'Illyria wants to have her own identity despite having my face and her claustrophobia is the antithesis of my old problems with agoraphobia, when you and the boys first bought me back home' she noted. 'It's strange that she has so many of my memories but she's still so different' Fred continued. 'The claustrophobia thing does explain why she was such a monumental bitch during her car-ride from LA, when Wesley and I drove her to Sunnydale. I thought she was a whiny nostalgic egomaniac, which she kinda is I suppose, but she's a lot more bearable when she's not twitchy about being in an enclosed space.'

Cordelia looked thoughtful. 'Maybe she found herself a purpose, a reason to go on, but the vengeance thing wasn't enough and she needs people now too?' she said. 'Assuming she thinks of us as people, and not barely evolved ooze' she added.

Fred sighed. 'Sounds about right' she agreed. 'Surviving isn't enough. I was alive in that cave all those years but I didn't really _live_ again until I had you guys' she said smiling at her friend. 'I'd like to do the same for Illyria' she declared. 'I know some people think of her like some sort of super-weapon but she deserves to be treated as a real person' she opined. 'Do it enough and she might even act like it a little more maybe?' she suggested.

'You're a good person Fred' Cordelia told her. 'But Illyria has an agenda of her own' she pointed out. 'Maybe we should keep her at arms length instead?'

'And _maybe_ if her agenda's _not_ ours we can change it so it is?' Fred countered. 'What's to lose?' she asked with a gentle knowing smile. 'A few kind words now could save a lot of heartbreak, by which I mean broken bones and ripped out hearts, later on' she joked.

Cordelia grinned back. 'And hey, if nothing else we've found out from her being here that you totally suit the dominatrix look' she joked. 'If you give up science you could make a fortune playing Mistress of Pain missy.'

'Who says I'd be _playing_?' Fred replied with a wink.

A few yards away the potentials were gathering in a semi-circle around willow. 'We're not like going to have to chant and hold hands are we?' Molly asked. 'I'm not good with Hippy' she declared. One of her uncles was a left-over child of the sixties and he'd creeped her out for years.

'The only chanting is my department' Willow told her and looked around the group looking first to Faith then Buffy. 'Ready to lose your specialness?' she asked.

'Already thinking about retirement' Faith replied. 'Let the next generation carry the load.'

Buffy looked at her. 'They'll still need training and if you want to get paid you have to work' she told her. 'Is there something else on your resume I don't know about?' she asked sardonically.

'If I wanted to hang out with girls and hit things the rest of my life I'd have gone back to prison' Faith told her. 'It's pork chop night there tonight' she noted. 'And they cooked better than you anyhow' she added with a smirk. Buffy was under the delusion she could cook and glared in response.

'What about you Buffy?' Andrew asked. 'What are your thoughts at this auspicious moment?' he asked. 'The Chosen one herself choosing to activate the potentials and in doing so sacrifice her claim to uniqueness' he continued then turning to Faith added 'I mean biniqueness' he said then paused. 'Is biniqueness a word?' he asked Giles who shook his head. 'Well it should be' Andrew opined.

Buffy threw Andrew a stern look. 'Turn that thing off' she ordered and he reluctantly complied, putting down his video camera.

The slayer looked around the room. 'I'm glad that you are all going to achieve your potential' Buffy told the girls. 'You were all already special for who you are, but now you'll be special for what you can do for others' she informed them. 'We fight evil because we _can_ fight evil on its own terms and most people can't' she declared. 'Giles once read me a quote that stuck with me, "All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing", nothing' she repeated. 'Well _we're_ going to do _something_ and it'll be _us_ that triumphs' Buffy declared. 'I don't mind being one of many as long as the many are doing the right thing and I _know_ you will' she told them assertively.

Watching from the seats, Dawn looked at her sister with interest. This was one of her better speeches she thought. Not her best but she was delivering it well enough.

Buffy turned to Willow. 'Ball's in your court now Willow' she joked, looking at the young witch sitting there on the basketball court.

Willow took a breath and lit the candles laid out in front of her starting the ritual. 'If I go all homicidal and world-endy someone kill me okay?' she requested earnestly thought she doubted it would come to that, wrong kind of magic.

'No problem' Gunn announced, everyone turning to look at him. 'Hey redheads make me nervous at the best of times' he told the group.

'You will be fine Willow' the Guardian told her confidently. She was still trying to adjust to the new circumstances, and spent most of her time back at her pyramid, but since this spell involved channelling some of the power she had helped infuse into the scythe in the first place, _and_ since to be honest she was curious to see if it was actually going to work, she had asked to attend, getting Buffy to collect her in case The First wanted to have another go at assassination.

Willow took a deep cleansing breath and making sure everything was ready she signalled for the lights to be turned down and began to chant quietly.

Outside, Illyria, in her Ria form in case anyone came along, looked at the clouds as twilight approached. It was going to be a red sunset she thought, Wesley had nearly ruined the aesthetic appeal by explaining the science that caused such a sunset but it was still going to be worth watching. She had already known the science of course thanks to the shells' memories, but it was easier to suppress the knowledge than it was to ignore Wesley.

They were sat on a bench outside the school sports hall. Wesley not exactly squeezing close but he wasn't keeping as far away as possible. 'So your plan to raise a Slayer Army is continuing on schedule' he noted. 'You must be very pleased?' he suggested.

'With the slayers yes' Illyria replied. 'Otherwise no' she told him.

'You're talking about "us" I take it?' Wesley responded looking at her.

Illyria turned to look back at him. 'Do you think me so shallow, and yourself so important, that such a matter would dominate my thoughts?' she asked coldly. 'There is far more going on than my unfortunate infatuation with a scruffy human' she stated.

Wesley flinched. 'I'm sorry, I imagine you are continuing to develop your plans' he said apologetically.

Illyria frowned. 'I _was_ thinking about "us" but I thought your assumption was unwarranted and egotistical' she admitted. 'I do not spend my time wallowing in an adolescent crush like some of my female students' she said forcefully. 'I am master of my emotions they are not yet the master of me.'

Wesley smiled. 'You're cute when you're indignant' he responded with a chuckle.

'Do not mock me human' Illyria snapped back angrily then paused. 'I am?' she asked in a soft tone before grimacing. 'I hate this' she declared through gritted teeth. 'I would kill you if I thought it would go away but it would just make me feel worse' she said in exasperation.

'Well I've got to say that for my part I'm glad that killing me is not an option' Wesley said earnestly but with a wisp of a smile.

'I did not say it was not an option' Illyria told him, 'you are lucky it is a poor one' she explained. 'However if you continue to leave me hanging it may start to look more attractive' she warned.

Wesley reached over and took her hand in his. She look she gave him a look of wonderment in return. 'Illyria' he began. 'I do not have the feelings for you that you have for me' he said, 'but I am willing to accept your feelings are real and I'm not saying I could not develop affection for you. I already think of you as a friend of sorts albeit a highly unusual one, even for a man who counts several supernatural beings as comrades, I find you fascinating, and admirable and frankly highly attractive' he told her. 'And while we're talking about it your offer to sleep with me has required depths of resolve I didn't think I had to turn down' he told her, his eyes twinkling.

'You do not love me but you think you perhaps could?' Illyria queried.

Wesley nodded. 'Yes but I cannot say if I _will_' he said. 'I have no more control over my emotions than you do yours.'

Illyria looked back at the sky. 'Can you at least provide a timescale on how long I might have to wait to know if you have developed romantic feelings for me?' she asked. 'I am immortal but you are not so I cannot wait forever' she said.

'I'll try not to keep you "hanging" forever, since I, at least, don't have that long' he told her, lifting her hand and kissing it.

Illyria slid along the bench and sat right next to him. She leaned her head on his shoulder and seeing her sad expression he put his arm around her. 'This is just a friendly hug' he explained, not wanting her to get the wrong idea.

'This will do' Illyria replied. 'For now at least' she added quietly.

The God-King suddenly sat bolt upright. 'Willow is reaching the conclusion of the spell' she declared.

'How do you know?'

'I can feel the scythe reaching out across the globe' Illyria told him. 'Only a being of my power could feel it' she said. 'It is quite repellent to me. I feel nauseous' she said with distaste.

There was a row of windows behind them, high up on the wall, that opened to the basketball court. They suddenly flashed brightly and Illyria shuddered. 'I dislike that weapon intensely and the feeling is mutual' she told Wesley. 'Willow has succeeded, the potentials are activated. Do you wish to go back inside to speak with them?' she asked.

Wesley shook his head. 'Hyped up teenage girls aren't quite my thing' he told her. 'We could watch the sunset' he suggested instead.

Illyria smiled and put her head back on his shoulder. 'I would like that' she replied.

'Just one more thing' Wesley added.

'Yes?'

'If my resolve crumbles is the offer to sleep with me still on the cards?' Wesley asked.

'Yes' Illyria confirmed.

Wesley winced. 'I'd have felt better if you'd said no' he told her.

'All's fair in love and war' Illyria declared. 'It would be foolish for me to disarm just because we are in an armistice of sorts for now.'

The ex-watcher laughed. 'You like those military analogies don't you?' he asked. 'Okay here's a line you'll like, "Those who beat swords into ploughshares will plough for those who don't".'

Illyria lifted her head from his shoulder and looked at him. 'A good line indeed' she agreed. ' And are you perhaps subconciously hinting that you wish to "plough" me Wesley?' she asked with a coy smile.

'This being the United States I'm taking the Fifth' Wesley told her.

**Motel - Five Miles Southeast of Sunnydale – May 2003**

'It was the witch' Vail stated, looking at a still shaken Glory. 'She has activated the potential slayers as expected.'

'It feels like I ate bad Chinese' Glory replied, rubbing her midsection. 'There was this little grad student from Beijing I sucked the brain out of one time…' she began to explain then stopped due to the Warlock's expression. 'You know that anything as easily broken as you are shouldn't look at me that way' she warned him.

Vail ignored her threats, she needed him alive even if his magic infused brain _would_ be a meal fit for a HellGod.

Thinking of meals, two of the Wolfram and Hart mercenaries dragged in supper. They were set up in the room next door with two more of them in the room the other side. The rest of the Motel was empty, the law firm had hired the whole place then given the manager some money to make himself scarce.

The girl the black clad mercenaries had bought in was perhaps twenty-five and reasonably pretty. She was also tied and gagged of course and a black eye indicated she's put up some fight.

'Thanks boys' Glory told the mercenaries. 'Are we supposed to tip these guys like you do the Pizza Delivery boy?' she asked Vail who ignored her again. 'I'll make sure you get a bonus' she told the Merc's who seemed happy about it and let go of the girl, Glory taking hold of her personally before they bowed to her respectfully and left the room.

The bowing was a nice touch, Glory thought. She really would make sure they got a bit extra in their pay-packet. Good help was hard to find and harder to keep and they were better looking and hunkier than her old minions too she decided.

Vail watched Glory eat, the girl struggling futilely against her then screaming beneath her gag when the HellGod slid her fingers into her head to suck out her neural energy, then the warlock returned to reading his scrolls, preparing for the Senior Partners to make their move.

The opposition had just got themselves a few more slayers. The question was how would they fare against ten times that number of Turok-Han not to mention untold numbers of Bringers and lesser demons? Vail wondered. A better question he pondered to himself was how this witch, who had the power to activate the slayers, would match up to _him_ in a fight?


	19. Chapter 19

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER NINETEEN**

**Vampire Lair – Sunnydale - May 2003**

It was the apocalypse.

Not so much in the conventional human sense of the word but the demons certainly thought so, at least they did locally. Stories were being told about that night by demon clans for decades afterwards right around the world.

As night fell with a blazing red sunset, approximately three dozen slayers buzzing with their new abilities, and with varying degrees of training, headed out looking for trouble in a town that was brimming with it, it didn't really take them too long to find it either.

The door to the lair burst open, and the vampires within turned and hissed, eyes blazing yellow and teeth bared in challenge at the four teenage girls that entered. 'Guess what boys and girls' one told them. 'It's Slayerfest 2003 and you're all invited' she declared, holding up a machined wooden stake that had been specially turned on a lathe to fit her hand perfectly.

A vampire glared back. 'Slayer' it growled redundantly.

'_Slayers_, plural' the girl responded. 'The rules have changed and it's _not_ a good day to be a vampire' she announced.

'Into every generation a multitude of slayers are born' another added, aiming a crossbow. 'We're rewriting history from now on' she said with a predatory grin of her own.

The vamps didn't know what hit them.

**Office Parking Lot – Sunnydale – May 2003**

The Boretz Demon ran for its life across the deserted parking lot, legs pumping as hard as they could, panting for breath. It didn't get very far, the two fifteen year olds chasing it could hit nearly thirty miles an hour flat out and one tackled it just before it could reach the other side of the lot, bringing it slamming down to the ground, hard.

Still breathing heavily from the chase herself, it had lasted nearly a mile, the other slayer immediately and ruthlessly, smashed its brains out all over the asphalt with a heavy mace. It was a messy but highly effective move and as she helped the first slayer up the Boretz was twitching, the part of the demon that controlled its higher brain functions being pulp on the ground but its primitive nervous system still firing uselessly. The girl that had tackled it slammed her short-sword into its back, chopping through its spinal column to finish the job properly.

They dragged the beast away and threw it into a dumpster, off in the distance to the south they could hear police sirens. Plenty more work to do tonight they thought happily.

**Main Street – Sunnydale – May 2003**

'It won't die' a policeman screamed to his partner, emptying his service revolver into the creature. They had answered a call about a monster terrorising the centre of town and had screeched up in their patrol car to find an eight-foot tall demon, an actual _demon_ with horns and everything, feeding on a person it had nearly ripped in two. It was covered in gore and rose to challenge them with blood dripping from teeth and claws as the bullets bounced off its scaly hide.

'Bullets won't hurt it' a young girl told them, walking past the Cop. 'You need to chop its head off' she informed him nonchalantly hefting a battleaxe that looked bigger than she was.

'Go and get yourself some doughnuts we'll deal with this jerk' another girl told the incredulous police officer confidently as the two girls strode purposefully towards the massive creature. 'That head will look great mounted on a wall' she suggested to her friend as they circled the demon before moving to the attack.

**Late Night Diner – Sunnydale - May 2003**

The lone M'Fashnik Demon reached across the counter and grabbed the waitress on the other side by her uniform. Unlike many clans his was known for more conventional criminal activity as well as ordinary demonic fiendishness and was into extortion, robbery and myriad other kinds of anti-social was surprising how rewarding robbing a diner at night could be and the M'Fashnik was hoping for a big score that could get him into the next kitten-poker night.

'Oi dickhead' a young girl with a British accent called across to him from a few tables away. The M'Fashnik turning to look at the source of the challenge, baring its teeth.

Eight vampire slayers, that had come to the Diner for some late refreshment after a hard couple of hours crusading against the forces of darkness, looked back at him from where they sat around adjacent tables. One of them calmly took another bite from her cream doughnut while another was still forking apple-pie into her mouth as the demon wondered what the hell was going on.

'This could very well be the unluckiest son-of-a-bitch on the face of the Earth' one of the slayers suggested seriously, the others nodding in complete agreement as they got up as a group.

**Summers Residence – Sunnydale – May 2003**

Connor slumped into a chair. 'I think I'm getting old' he moaned, getting comfortable. 'I was burned out by 4AM trying to keep up with them but they just kept right on going' he announced.

'Hark at Methuselah' Spike responded, pointing at the youth. 'Kids these days' he continued. 'No stamina.'

'Well I didn't see _you_ out there' Connor retorted.

Spike made a dismissive sound. 'Got more brains than to try and keep up with a load of brand new teenage slayers most of which are also on a sugar and caffeine rush after emptying the high-school snack machines' he said.

'Well who was it that gave them the money for that?' Connor asked, turning towards his father with a disaproving look.

Angel coughed awkwardly. 'Well I gave one of them a couple of bucks to get a soda' he said, 'and then they all started nagging so…'

'Just can't say no to a pretty face can you?' Dawn asked Angel with a grin whist handing Connor a glass of milk which he took gratefully. The first groups of weary newbie slayers had started to return about a quarter of an hour ago, wanting either sleep or breakfast and Dawn had been woken by the noise. It was barely six in the morning, damn potentials, nope she thought correcting herself damn _slayers_.

'There were dozens of them and they could all kick my ass' Angel pointed out defensively. 'It was pure self preservation.'

'Yeah right' Spike retorted dismissively. 'Where did Blue end up anyhow?' he asked.

'Her and Wes left before Willow activated the potentials remember' Dawn replied. 'Maybe they went patrolling?' she suggested.

'Or maybe he took her somewhere for a good shagging?' Spike joked. 'If he turns up with a fractured pelvis she went on top.'

'Spike!' Angel growled as Dawn giggled.

'Oh come on she looks like a goer' Spike opined. 'It might even improve her people skills' he said to Angel. 'He'll do what you tell him. Go on, tell him to take one for the team' he encourage him. 'I mean, give her one for the team' he corrected himself with a laugh.

'That's enough Spike' Angel told him coldly.

'What's the worst that could happen?' Spike asked.

'Little Blue haired Wesley look-alikes?' Dawn theorised, causing Connor to burst out laughing.

Angel turned to address Dawn. 'Don't encourage him' he told her then raised his hands to indicate the conversation needed to stop immediately, he'd heard someone arriving that it would be best didn't overhear it.

'Good morning' Wesley greeted them. 'I went over to the mansion but you weren't there' he told Angel.

'He's not walking funny' Connor noted, holding back the laughter more successfully than Dawn who cracked up.

Wesley looked at them with a puzzled expression. 'I'm sorry?' he asked in confusion.

'So where have you been?' Spike asked him.

'He has been with me all night' Illyria told the vampire, interrupting from behind Wesley before stepping forward to stand next to him.

Spike turned to Connor. 'Now you see there's stamina for you' he told him deadpan.

'Is there something going on?' Wesley asked suspiciously.

'That's what _we've_ been wondering' Dawn replied, giggling.

Angel looked at his friend. 'They're just being stupid' he told them. 'Spike made a crack about you and Illyria being involved.'

'With what?' Wesley queried.

'Each other' Angel told him. 'Spike's idea of a joke' he explained, with a shake of the head.

Illyria looked at Spike. 'What's supposed to be funny about that?' she demanded to know.

Spike chuckled. 'Sorry Love' he replied. 'I know you don't get humour too well.'

'It's just a silly notion' Dawn told her, still giggling.

'No it isn't' Illyria snapped back angrily. 'Tell them it's not silly' she demanded of Wesley whose eyes widened.

'We're not actually…um' Wesley began half-heartedly.

'Tell them it's not silly' Illyria repeated forcefully.

Wesley flinched. 'It's not silly' he said. 'But we're not' he added quickly, 'not involved I mean.'

'Yet!' Illyria added herself, glaring at everyone in the room in turn.

Angel blinked then looked at Spike quizzically. 'I was just being funny honest' Spike told him. 'Bloody hell' he exclaimed, looking at Wesley and Illyria. 'And people make comments about a vampire and a slayer getting it on.'

'We're _not_ "getting it on" Spike' Wesley told him curtly.

'_Yet_' Illyria once again added, directing her glare on Wesley now. It was bloody unnerving, he thought, the glacial blue within blue looked right through you. 'Are you ashamed of me?' she asked furiously but with a hint of distress there too for good measure.

Wesley would have given up his best dagger and ten favourite books to have a portal open up beneath him and take him to a nice friendly hell dimension right at that moment. 'Of course not' he replied. 'But we're really _not_ involved' he pointed out. 'I wasn't lying or being evasive.'

The God-King narrowed her eyes, she was getting extremely annoyed now. 'Tell them we _might_ be… _soon_' she told him darkly.

Spike was caught between sympathy for the poor bloke and the urge to laugh his head off. It reminded him of the times he'd managed to annoy Drusilla. Hell really doth hath no fury like a woman scorned, he thought.

Wesley blinked. 'We _might_ be' he admitted. Where was that bloody portal he wondered as his eyes met those of Angel who was looking at him with raised eyebrows.

Illyria crossed her arms. 'Does anyone wish to comment?' she asked everyone sternly.

The room was deadly silent. There were a number of new slayers dotted around listening with interest now too. One thing about this life, if you didn't get the action there was usually a soap opera on the other channel, or in the other room anyhow.

'I am working at the school this morning and have to be in early to prepare an experiment' Illyria said, turning to Wesley. 'You will pick me up from there at lunchtime' she told him then to his surprise she kissed him on the cheek before heading off with a superior air.

Wesley could feel many pairs of eyes regarding him intently. 'Well that was awkward' he said eventually.

Angel took a step forward. 'Wes can we have a quiet word?' he asked in such a way as to ensure than "no" wasn't a viable answer.

Something occurred to Spike and he turned to Dawn and Connor. 'I've just got to check something' he said. 'You two aren't… are you?' he asked.

'No' Dawn responded quickly.

'Good' Spike replied with relief. 'I was just wondering because I was making jokes about that yesterday and I thought I'd turned psychic or something' he said.

'What kind of jokes?' Connor demanded to know.

**Shadow Valley Vineyards – May 2003**

Vi yawned then apologised. 'Long night' she told Wesley 'only got a couple of hours sleep.'

'Enjoying your new status as a full-blown slayer?' Wesley asked with a smile.

Vi smiled back. 'Doesn't suck' she told him.

Wesley chuckled. 'Watch your language young lady' he responded in jest then handed her a loaded pistol. 'Don't squeeze the trigger too hard' he advised. 'It's not just bad for the aim you might bend it now' he warned semi-seriously.

The red haired slayer grinned and aimed the pistol, firing off a couple of shots down-range. 'The recoil feels like a water-pistol now' she told him.

Wesley nodded. 'I thought it might' he replied. 'Burn off the magazine and try this instead' he told her, taking a much larger pistol out of his equipment satchel and laying it on a empty wine barrel.

Vi emptied the nine-millimetre automatic in a flurry of well placed shots and swapped handguns for the larger one. It was a bit too big for her hand but it felt much sturdier.

'Desert Eagle .357 Magnum' Wesley told her. 'With your slayer strength you could probably handle a .44 or a .50 calibre easily enough but the magazines hold less shots and the .357 cartridge has already well over half again as much muzzle energy as that nine millimetre you were using' he said. 'Try her out.'

Vi raised the oversized pistol, it looked even larger in her small hand. She aimed at the target and squeezed the trigger gently. The supersonic report of the handgun was far louder than that of the pistol she'd been using before and the recoil noticeably harsher, though still puny compared to her new slayer strength.

Wesley watched her place shots into the target. 'I'm impressed as ever' he told her. 'It's always the quiet ones' he joked as she fired the handgun again.

'It's just too damn big' she said sadly, finishing off the magazine and putting the Desert Eagle down again.

Wesley nodded his agreement. 'That's why I don't carry one myself' he said. 'It would ruin the cut of anything I was wearing. Try this instead' he suggested, offering yet another pistol. 'GLOCK 31 chambered in the .357 SIG cartridge' he told her. 'Not _quite_ as powerful as the Eagle but it's less bulky, you get at least fifteen shots in a magazine and it still hits with a lot more punch than most pistols. Empty that thing into a demon and it'll know about it trust me.'

Vi looked at him then the growing number of automatics on top of the barrel. 'Do you like _collect_ these things?' she asked.

'The Eagle was mine, I took it from a demon actually, long story, but I got the other one for you specially' Wesley replied. 'It seemed a good choice. If it works out well I was thinking it would make a useful backup weapon for any Slayers who aren't totally incompetent with a handgun. Powerful cartridge, large magazine but still not oversized.'

The slayer picked up the black pistol. It was surprisingly light and much slimmer than the one she had just tried. 'You're using me as a test subject?' she asked.

Wesley grinned. 'I wouldn't necessarily use the phrase "lab rat" to anyone carry a loaded pistol but yes you're the only one who can already shoot well enough to be a test case as it were' he confirmed.

Despite her activation Vi was still basically a shy, reserved girl at heart and she was a bit taken aback by the attention. Wesley had decided to take her under his wing as his pet project in bringing the use of weaponry by slayers beyond the medieval stage. A sword or a crossbow had their place but supersonic lead could be a persuasive tool. It was pure luck that he had a slayer available who he wasn't going to need a few months to teach to shoot properly first.

She just didn't look the part though he admitted privately to himself, looking at her woollen hat which was currently being worn underneath a bulky set of ear protectors that looped over her head, not the ideal image he decided. 'Lets see you have a go then' Wesley told her. Vi raising the weapon and starting to fire the latest handgun down the range.

Wesley let her fire off another two magazines then called a halt as someone else arrived. 'Good morning Stephen' he told the watcher trainee. 'Ready for your lesson?' he asked, passing him a shotgun.

Stephen looked at it appreciatively. 'Not exactly what we used on pheasant back home' he noted of the pump-action.

'Bigger game here' Wesley responded, indicating the cardboard box full of 12-gauge buckshot Stephen should load it with.

**Crawford Street Mansion – Sunnydale – May 2003**

'Wesley and Illyria are _what_?' Cordelia asked in astonishment.

Angel shrugged. 'I think they're sort of seeing each other, but I also think it's more Illyria's idea than his' he told them.

Gunn leaned back against a wall. He was wondering if English had decided to redirect his feelings for Fred elsewhere, or in reality to an "elsewhere" that looked exactly like Fred, except for the blue thing of course. It wasn't that long ago that he and Wes had come to blows over Fred ,and for that matter it hadn't ever been sorted out exactly what the situation was between the three of them. So much had happened in the meantime it had just got pushed further and further back the agenda and seemed so trivial by comparison to eveything else going on.

'They're not sleeping together are they?' Fred asked, slightly disturbed by the implications of that.

'No' Angel replied. 'That I'd have known' he said, tapping his nose.

'Good' Cordelia replied. 'And ewww with the smell thing by the way' she added. 'So what are we going to do about it?' she asked.

'How exactly is it our business?' Angel queried in response. 'I was just getting you up to speed before you heard from Connor… or worse Spike.'

'He's our friend that's why it's our business' Cordelia told him. 'It can't be healthy' she said.

'Step up from Lilah if you ask me' Gunn observed. 'Well she is' he declared. 'Blue may be mean but I don't look at her and see evil, just mean like I said. Hell we've got a lot of mean ourselves' he opined.

'At least Lilah was human' Cordelia responded. 'Not the best representative of our species but she _was_ our species.'

Angel pointed to himself. 'Part demon here' he noted. 'And so are you thanks to the Powers-That-Be' he reminded her.

Cordelia scowled at him. 'I may be a teeny bit demony' she admitted. 'But compared to _Illyria_?' she said incredulously, 'Let's get some perspective on this' she insisted.

'She gives other demons the heeby jeebies' Fred reminded them. 'I mean I'm starting to like her and all but she does.'

'Well what's the worst that could happen?' Gunn asked.

'Wesley's spine in a trophy cabinet?' Cordelia replied rhetorically. 'We're not just talking heartbreak here bucko' she added seriously.

'She wouldn't hurt him' Angel said with some confidence. 'From what I saw she could guilt or maybe intimidate him a bit but not hurt. If anything I think she loves him based on her reactions' he said.

'How could she _love_ him?' Cordelia asked. 'We don't even know if she's got a soul or anything remotely like one?'

'You don't need a soul for love' Angel replied. 'I know that from personal experience and just look at Spike for God's sake' he continued. 'I'm not sure if he might actually be _less_ ruled by his heart now he's got a soul than he was before' he said. 'You should have seen the way he fawned over Drusilla' he added, rolling his eyes to the ceiling with the often cloying memories.

'We should put a stop to it right now' Cordelia declared.

'We shouldn't, and we _won't_ do a damn thing' Angel responded sharply. 'If they do get involved with each other and it falls apart we pick up the pieces, and if it works out somehow we _will_ be happy for them' he said. 'He's a grown adult and she's not exactly underage herself.'

'If it goes wrong the "pieces" could be red and squishy' Cordelia retorted.

'Don't get involved Cordy' Angel told her. 'Please just leave them be' he asked of her.

Cordelia sighed. 'If I see one sign that she's going to hurt him in any way I'm going to beat the bits of her that aren't already blue the same colour' she declared.

'See' Gunn interjected. 'Like I said before, _mean_' he told the group.


	20. Chapter 20

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY**

**Shadow Valley Vineyards – May 2003**

As he had expected the acoustics in the cavern were perfect Andrew decided. He had spent the best part of two hours placing the speakers just right and now his efforts were paying off, the musical accompaniment to the presentation was superb even if he did think so himself, stirring, martial and even a touch whimsical at times.

'And on this next slide we can see how the number of demons in town was rising sharply until two days ago' he told his audience, clicking the mouse again so that the PowerPoint presentation switched to the next graph in the sequence.

'Where the hell did he get the projector and the screen?' Buffy whispered to Faith who looked like she was already well on the way to brain death. Andrew's presentation was already on at least its thirtieth slide, many of them being drawings and brief descriptions of the most common, and/or most dangerous of the Sunnydale demon fraternity and it was starting to wear. The slayers were sat in rows on folding metal chairs watching the screen, some more intently than others. Molly was furiously taking notes like she was going to have to take a test on it later while Rona for one had glazed over a while ago.

'You will note the drastic fall in the demon population resulting from what our contacts in the underworld tell us is already being called the "Slayer Jihad" or what I prefer to call the Great Activation' Andrew said, using a laser pointer to indicate the downturn on the six foot wide projection. 'Even so the numbers remain far above the average and since the less intelligent demons, and the most poorly concealed lairs have already been weeded out we should expect future operations to be far less effective' he told them, reaching for the laptop again which was sat on a folding table next to the projector connected to it.

'If we concentrate on merely the vampyre contingent however' Andrew continued, clicking the next slide into view, 'we can see an utterly unprecedented fall in the estimated population within the town limits of at least eighty-five percent over the last two nights' he said, 'assuming that is that everyone has been filling in their after-action reports correctly' he added. 'Those whose reports were immediately suspect or illegible were left out of Anya's calculations when she helped me compile the data' he told them.

Anya stood up to address the girls. 'The slayer that reported single-handedly defeating a, and I quote, "Big Fucking Demon with huge teeth that was like thirty feet tall at least" end quote, has had the rest of their reports treated with suspicion too' she said, not actually naming the girl but looking directly at the girl concerned so that nobody could be in doubt who the guilty party was. 'There's no point in exaggerating Missy' she declared sternly. 'And as for the reports I couldn't even _read_, good penmanship is now compulsory' she insisted.

'I can't believe we have to do paperwork' a slayer mumbled from the back. 'Isn't that what watchers are for?' she asked with more than a few mutters of agreement.

Buffy stood up herself and glared at the group collectively. 'Most of the watchers are _dead_' she pointed out sharply. 'I know that Giles and Wesley have been helping out any of you that don't have English as a first language but I'm not putting up with anyone too damn lazy to spend five minutes a day writing out a neat, _accurate_ report on what they did on patrol' she told the assembled slayers. 'Good intelligence on what's going on can save lives, civilian, another person on the team, or maybe even your own' she said then turned to Anya and Andrew 'Thanks for all your work' she said. '_Some_ of us have the brains to appreciate the importance of it' she said then sat back down feigning to be riveted in the presentation.

Faith was already half asleep but straightened up in her chair after Buffy's little rebuke to the newbies, she knew she had to set an example.

Andrew gave Buffy a nod of appreciation for her words. The Supreme Slayer, as he liked to call her, was truly a benevolent and wise leader he thought and certainly a big step up from Warren or The First, or the First pretending to be Warren for that matter. 'If you want to see an example of a first rate report' he said 'please take a look at either one of Molly's or Illyria's' he suggested.

'Illyria hands in Patrol Reports?' Rona asked in surprise.

'Typed' Anya replied, 'and with diagrams.'

Molly quickly scribbled on her notebook "add diagrams to patrol reports".

'Plotting the recent engagements with the demon foe on a map of Sunnydale' Andrew continued, switching to yet another slide and raising his laser pointer, 'we can see a definite pattern which not only radiates out from the focal point of the Hellmouth under the High School here' he said indicating the location of the school on the projected map, 'but also clusters at these locations…'

**Crawford Street Mansion – Sunnydale – May 2003**

'Penny for your thoughts' Emily asked Stephen who was continuing to watch the assembly work with fascination.

'Robot Wars next year' Stephen replied. 'They wouldn't stand a chance' he said sincerely watching Fred continue to mount the second chainsaw on her Seal guarding mechanism. Anything that tried to come up through the Seal of Danthazar, that they didn't _want_ coming through, would have to contend with being automatically sliced and diced. Turok-Han were tough but they weren't exactly chainsaw resistant. Fred had deliberately sought out the heaviest duty saws with the toughest blades available because she wasn't exactly one to under-engineer things either.

'Robot Wars?' Fred asked, tightening up a support bar with a ratchet screwdriver.

'Television series back home' Stephen explained. 'People build machines, like remote control robots, that smash each other to pieces with hammers and things' he told her.

'Oh I know what it is' Fred replied, 'they show it on PBS' she told him. 'I just never saw any worthwhile competition on the show so never thought to enter' she declared with a grin before getting to grips with the controls that worked the chainsaws.

Gunn and Wesley carried in the last of the crates, they had ordered another load of supplies from Emil and he was so impressed by the repeat business he'd waived the delivery charge he'd normally add for shipping merchandise outside LA. It wasn't as large a purchase as the initial one but it was still a decent amount and the arms dealer liked to keep relations with his clients cordial and friendly, it was just good business practice.

'Did he send the other night-vision goggles?' Angel asked, wandering in with Connor, they'd been sparring elsewhere in the mansion. 'Buffy was chasing after them' he told Wesley.

'Dark blue box over there' Wesley replied, 'he couldn't get all we wanted so he threw in a few old Infra-Red rifle scopes to make up the numbers.'

'Not much help with vampires' Angel noted, he was strictly room temperature himself.

Wesley nodded. 'Yes, but most other demons are warm blooded, some _very_ warm, so they'll be useful otherwise' he told him. 'They weren't pricy at all, they're old Warsaw Pact gear, rugged but cheap as chips.'

'Did you get the collapsible sword for Buffy?' Stephen asked. 'Giles told me to ask you about it.'

'Collapsible Sword?' Angel queried.

Wesley chuckled. 'I gave one to Faith and then Buffy made a comment in Giles presence about Faith's watcher getting _her_ one so…'

'Giles felt he had to get Buffy one too' Angel completed the sentence. 'I thought he'd be harder to manipulate than that' he commented.

Wesley smirked. 'I didn't tell Giles I'd ordered Faith a harpoon grapnel gun for her other arm though' he said. 'Got to keep ahead of the game after all' he added.

'That's really petty Wes' Angel told him disapprovingly.

'You know this kind of watcher rivalry could become endemic now there's a horde of slayers around' Stephen theorised. 'It'll be all "my watcher got me a better sword than your watcher" or some such foolishness' he observed.

Wesley turned to him. 'And I suppose you'll be above that yourself?' he asked doubtfully.

Stephen adopted an offended expression. 'Given that any slayer I am assigned to will already have the cream of the watcher community at her back I'd imagine that she wouldn't feel any need to compete with her less fortunate sisters' he replied.

Emily narrowed her eyes at Stephen. 'If I thought you were being serious there for one second' she said eventually, 'I'd tell Mr Wyndham-Pryce to give you a clout around the head' she told him.

Stephen grinned back at her in response. 'Only joking of course' he responded.

'Good boy' Emily replied. 'In any case it's patently obvious that it'll be my slayer that's won the watcher sweepstake' she opined. 'I mean look at the competition' she said. 'Mr Giles is old and a complete luddite, Mr Wyndham-Pryce is a scruffy gun-nut and _you_ think you're Errol Flynn' she declared.

'I am _not_ a gun-nut' Wesley protested, surrepticiously edging away from the assault rifle he'd been cleaning earlier.

'Oh please' Gunn interjected dismissively. 'There are guys in the NRA that look at you funny' he told the Englishman.

'I don't think I'm Errol Flynn' Stephen denied.

'Don't knock it' Angel told him. 'I met the guy in the Thirties and the films didn't do him justice' he said.

'You met Errol Flynn?' Wesley asked in surprise. 'And you actually whined because _I_ got to meet Chow Yun-Fat and you didn't?'

'I did _not_ whine' Angel snapped back.

'Yes you did' Wesley retorted. 'And you made me watch all those films so I knew who he was.'

Angel crossed his arms. 'It worked out for you didn't it?' he responded. 'Don't tell me that dual pistol thing you do had _nothing_ to do with seeing Hard Boiled?' he asked.

Wesley opened his mouth to deny it but stopped. 'You're only jealous' he told Angel.

'Of what exactly?' Angel responded.

'The hyphenated name, you can't do it properly without the hyphenated surname, it's absolutely essential' Wesley maintained. 'Chow _Yun-Fat_, Wesley _Wyndham-Pryce_, think about it' he told Angel with his most earnest tones but with the hint of a smile being desperately suppressed in the corner of his mouth.

'I feel so much better now about being told I'm an Errol Flynn wannabe' Stephen said to Emily. 'And so much worse about the fact we went to the same school as him' he added sadly.

'Oh go get your sword and slice through a candle or something' Wesley told him. 'Or take Olivia de Havilland there out for a coffee' he said indicating Emily. 'Just get back before dark' he ordered.

'Olivia who?' Emily queried.

Angel looked at her in amazement. 'Olivia de Havilland' he repeated. 'Actress, starred with Errol Flynn in a lot of films' he explained.

'Oh right' the girl replied with a shrug.

'I feel old' Angel said sadly.

'You _are_ old' Gunn pointed out. 'But I knew who she was, so me feeling old is a lot worse' he stated.

'I couldn't borrow a car could I?' Stephen asked. 'I've got my license' he told them.

'Not a chance' Wesley replied. 'This is a small town, walk you lazy little sod.'

Stephen sighed. 'Want to go to the pictures?' he asked Emily.

'Okay but no action films' she agreed, following him out of the room.

'Young love, isn't it sweet?' Fred commented, still working on the chainsaws.

Wesley frowned 'I think she's too young for him' he said.

'And what's the age gap between you and blue?' Gunn asked in amusement. 'If she dated a tyrannosaur she'd be the older woman.'

'I am not dating Illyria' Wesley replied quickly.

'Yet' Angel, Gunn and Fred chorused.

**Eastern Suburbs – Sunnydale – May 2003**

Buffy had been completely silent for the past ten minutes then finally she broke. 'How can you be so sanguine about it?' she asked Spike. 'You're going to _die_' she said, lashing out with her foot and sending an empty discarded coke can hurtling off into the shadows.

'Been dead for over a century Love' Spike replied. 'You get used to the idea after the first few decades.'

Buffy stopped dead in her tracks and turned to face him, Spike stopping too. 'Don't you dare make a joke of it' she snapped. 'You might be technically dead but you're not _dead_ dead' she declared.

Spike looked away. 'I don't want to die Buffy, but if what Bluebird says is true, and she hasn't steered us wrong yet, I need to go through the amulet thing to beat the First' he reminded her.

'We'll find another way' Buffy told him. 'We've got money now' she added desperately.

Spike smiled gently. 'You can't buy your way out of destiny' he told her, 'at least not this kind of destiny' he continued. 'If I don't take down the army of vampness it doesn't matter how many slayers you've got you'll be overwhelmed.' He looked up at the moon, it looked good tonight. 'I don't want to die' he repeated, 'but I don't want you to die a hell of a lot more' he said softly.

Buffy looked at the ground. 'I'd feel better if I thought you were doing it to save the world' she told him.

'I am' he said. 'But what makes the world worth saving to me the most is that you're in it' he said looking away from the moon and towards the girl. 'Maybe that makes me shallow?' he suggested.

'It makes you human' Buffy told him. 'You being shallow is like totally incidental' she added with a hint of a smile.

Spike frowned. 'I was going to write you an epic poem to remember me by' he told her. 'I don't think I'll bother now' he said before smiling back.

Buffy stepped closer and kissed him gently on the lips. 'It's not likely I'd forget you anyway' she told him earnestly. He wanted to kiss her back hard but resisted the urge, he didn't want to ruin the night.

'Unforgettable. That's what I am' Spike sang. 'Unforgettable, as vamp or man…'

'If your poetry is as bad as those lyrics I'd really prefer another souvenir' Buffy responded.

Spike thought about that. 'I already promised Andrew he could have the coat if it survived' he told her.

'He actually asked?' Buffy said incredulously. 'Are you sure you shouldn't leave it to Robin though?' she asked.

Spike shook his head. 'I like the nerd a hell of a lot more than I like that son-of-a-slayer' he told her. 'But don't tell Andrew that, at least not while I'm alive' he requested.

'Ah… so you _are_ alive' Buffy retorted.

'Figure of speech' Spike replied. 'Shall we continue Milady?' he asked.

The two of them continued their patrol. To his surprise she took his hand and they wandered along the tree lined suburban roads hand in hand for the next few blocks. It was damn near perfect he thought.

'Surprised we haven't run into one of the kiddie patrols yet' Spike noted.

Buffy looked around. 'We've got them in three slayer teams all over Sunnydale but I had Andrew leave this part of town to us so we could talk' she told him. 'We haven't really had much time to be alone.'

'To be honest when I think of us two being alone together this wasn't exactly what I had in mind' Spike commented, looking at another well maintained front lawn, this one with a children's bicycle laying on it.

'You weren't expecting pity sex I hope' Buffy asked with a smile.

'No but that's a pity in itself' Spike replied with a wink. 'The holding hands is nice but I can think of nicer things.'

'Let's not go into details' Buffy responded.

Spike shrugged. 'Do you maybe think Willow could make you invisible again?' he asked. 'Because that was just…'

'Spike!' Buffy warned with a grin to match his own.

'A man can dream can't he?' Spike asked.

'I don't want to hear about those either' Buffy told him.

Spike nodded. 'Not even the one where we find out you're really one of three identical triplets and there's a sale on whipped cream at the…'

'_Especially_ not that one' Buffy cut him off.

'So just the holding hands?' Spike checked.

Buffy nodded.

'Well it's still better than most men ever get' he told her honestly. 'Probably better than I deserve' he added. 'If I was like Captain Forehead the hand-holding would have probably made my soul go AWOL two hundred yards back.'

'Perfect happiness?' Buffy asked, unconvinced.

'As good as' Spike replied, 'but I'm not sure if you've been handling that scythe too much, you might need a manicure' he deadpanned.

Buffy chuckled. 'I'm going cold turkey on that thing' she said. 'It was when Kennedy said to me "Don't Bogart the Scythe" that I realised I was starting to have a problem' she joked.

'How are her and Red, White and Black getting on now?' Spike asked.

Buffy laughed at Spikes new nickname for Willow. Everyone was waiting for her to add blue to her various hair colours now so she could match Illyria. 'They're getting on okay' she replied. 'Things have been too busy for romance I think but it's nice to see Will happy again.'

'You should always make time for romance' Spike said. 'Look at Illyria, she's making lots of time for her prey.'

'He does have the hunted look about him doesn't he?' Buffy agreed, smiling.

'With just a smidgeon of the wanting to be caught in there too' Spike added. 'You don't know whether to envy or pity the poor sod' he said.

'It's good for the ego to be pursued by hot demonic types with superhuman strength' Buffy declared from personal experience.

'So I'm hot am I?' Spike asked.

'Not according to that Infra-Red scopey thing we tried out' Buffy replied with a laugh. 'And I _might_ have been talking about Angel' she continued. 'Your ego doesn't need any boosting anyhow.'

'He's not hot by any definition of the word' Spike retorted. 'And he's no fun at parties, he's dull as ditchwater and he can't sing.'

'But I could take _you_ anyway right?' Buffy asked.

'Social chameleon me' Spike assured her. 'I can talk literature with the intelligentsia, and afterwards watch sports and drink beer with the best of them' he declared.

'The ideal man' Buffy responded. 'Oh be still my beating heart' she continued with a chuckle.

'That can be arranged' a voice interrupted.

Buffy and Spike stopped walking and looked at the figure standing in front of them.

'That's a new one' Buffy observed. 'Nice to see you varying your repertoire' she told The First.

'Couldn't you just bugger-off?' Spike asked. 'We were talking here' he continued in an annoyed tone.

Buffy sighed. 'Must have thought we'd be intimidated' she theorised. 'Do we _look_ intimidated?' she asked rhetorically. 'It doesn't matter what you look like, you're still just as incorporeal' she said.

'Oh to hell with this' Spike said, and stuck his hand out to wave it through The Firsts' non-existent body.

His hand stopped the moment it ran up against Glory's shoulder.

'And who gave _you_ permission to touch the merchandise' the HellGod asked him with a smirk.

'Oh bugger' a dumbfounded Spike swore a split second before Glorys' backhanded slap drove him a good twenty yards up the road to bounce off a parked car and land in a heap.

Buffy was still too stunned to do much more than watch the vampire fly through the air. She turned back to the HellGod in shock, mouth agape.

'This time I really do want to fight' Glory told the Slayer. 'I'm fair though' she continued. 'How about a ten second head start' she offered with an evil glint in her eye. 'Nine, eight, seven…'


	21. Chapter 21

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE**

**Eastern Suburbs – Sunnydale - May 2003**

Buffy's brain kicked into high gear. She knew Glory was dead, Giles had admitted ages ago to killing Ben to prevent her return, but here she was, the proof as plain as the inevitably broken nose on Spikes face.

Having risen from the dead herself, more than once as it happened, Buffy was however probably more accepting of the situation than most would have been in the circumstances.

'…six, five' Glory continued to count down, 'aren't you running?' the HellGod asked. 'Not that I'm complaining in these shoes' she told the slayer. Glory dressed even less appropriately for a fight than Buffy at her worst. If the slayer ran Glory would have had to kick them off and chase barefoot. Vail had suggested something more practical to wear but the HellGod had treated that suggestion with the scorn it deserved. She was beautiful and perfect and needed the clothes to match and if that meant wearing high-heels to a fight so be it.

Buffy looked Glory right in the eyes 'I wish I could say it's nice to see you again' she told her with feigned indifference. 'Wasn't the last ass-kicking enough? Didn't you end up dead after that one?' the slayer asked injecting a hint of sarcasm into her voice while fighting the urge to flee.

Glory looked around. 'I'm not seeing any construction equipment, robots or comically oversized hammers anywhere sweetheart' she replied with a vicious smile. 'Just a badly dressed slayer and her pet vampire.'

'Working for The First Evil are we' Buffy asked stalling for time. Spike should be recovering by now and she needed him mobile, 'he bring you back? Needed a new lackey to do his dirty work?' the slayer asked in a mocking tone. 'What's being a minion pay these days? Decent 401K? Good prospects for advancement to flunky?'

'Do I _look_ like a flunky?' Glory asked with amusement.

Buffy looked the HellGod over 'Okay I'll give' Buffy conceded. '_Way_ more like a hooker' she opined. 'First got you turning tricks out here?' she asked evenly, sweeping her right arm around to indicate the neighbourhood.

The slayer noted the changed expression on Glory's face. Okay so the last line was a _big_ mistake she thought as the HellGod snarled.

Her right arm still extended from where she'd swept it around Buffy activated the mechanism on her forearm and the folding sword smoothly and crisply extended and snapped into place.

Glory inwardly laughed and raised her left arm as a shield as Buffy swung it at her with all her might.

**Warehouse District – Sunnydale – May 2003**

Stephen had been thinking of writing up a short book of advice for watchers based on the sage comments he heard been hearing expressed by Giles, Wesley and a few of the others regarding their thoughts on dealing with slayers. One of these had particular resonance right now. It had been an advisory from Giles the first time he had gone out with one of the slayer patrols to observe. "Stephen my Boy" Giles had said. "If you ever see a slayer running away from something, don't stop to ask questions, just try and keep up" he had advised.

Words of wisdom Stephen decided as he watched _three_ vampire slayers run around a corner looking like their lives depended upon it. He was already running away in the same direction long before they got close enough to yell at him to get his Limey ass in gear. He was carrying his ubiquitous long-sword with the scabbard tied across his back and it banged against him as he ran. He had tried wearing a long coat to conceal it but it made him look like a Spike or Angel wannabe.

'What the hell is going on?' he called out as they gained on him rapidly.

'There were Turok-Han back there' Rona yelled back as herself and the two other, slightly less experienced slayers in her team, sprinted up the road gaining on him.

'Well, slay them' Stephen suggested, arms pumping and heart and feet pounding in his chest and the ground respectively. He was fairly fast on his feet and physically fit but they soon caught up and throttled back to his speed.

'There were _lots_ and _lots_ of Turok-Han back there' another of the slayers told him as the four ran as a group, Stephen flat out and the slayers coasting.

'Well slay _some_ of them then' Stephen told them breathlessly, turning his head slightly to see at least fifty Turok-Han come tearing around the same corner the slayers had come from.

His head immediately snapped back forward, his eyes widened and Stephen Travers suddenly found to his surprise he had another gear he didn't know about as he accelerated again, the four of them fleeing for their lives.

Stephen grabbed a radio from his jacket pocket. 'This is Patrol Eight' he yelled into the walkie-talkie. 'Patrol Eight reporting that we need urgent assistance' he continued, barking the words out between breaths. Fortunately they had developed a proper command and control system for the teams, with someone acting as a base to direct calls via too. It was far safer and more efficient that just letting each group of three act totally independent of each other.

A calm voice that sounded like Cordelia emerged from the speaker. '_What's your situation Patrol Eight_?' it asked.

'We're in deep shit' Stephen somehow managed to bellow. 'Turok-Han' he added.

'_What happened to British understatement_?' Cordelia asked on the radio.

'That _was_ British understatement' Stephen yelled into the mouthpiece before Rona snatched the radio from him. She was far less out of breath than Stephen and better able to relay a clear message.

'There's _dozens_ of the fuckers' Rona declared. 'Send _everyone_' she roared insistantly into the radio.

There was a momentry pause at the other end before eventually a reply came through '_Roger Patrol Eight we are converging all Teams_ _to your location._'

'Who's got the scythe?' one of the slayers asked. Each patrol took it in turns to carry it.

'Molly tonight' Rona told her. 'We need a lot more of those things' she noted unhappily.

**Eastern Suburbs – Sunnydale - May 2003**

Buffy swung the sword which Glory parried away with her own arm, seemingly unhurt by the clash of metal on what looked like ordinary flesh. By its nature the weapon wasn't as heavy or sturdy as a conventional sword, it was an aerospace grade titanium alloy, to make it as light as possible but still tough enough to be used in combat, but even so the links gave it several weak spots and not only did it not draw blood, the damn thing bent slightly with the impact.

The HellGod drew back her other arm and clenched a fist but before she could throw it Spike, finally recovered from her blow, launched himself at her with his inhuman strength and reflexes, driving the most powerful kick he could muster into Glory's side.

The shock of the blow ran back down his body but at best Glory merely rocked back in the other direction in response and turned her head towards him in amusement.

'No Spike! Run!' Buffy ordered, turning to flee herself. 'She can't chase us both' she yelled. Glory was powerful beyond belief but being in two places at once wasn't possible even for her.

'I won't leave you' Spike called back. He knew which one of them Glory would chase and it wasn't him.

'Get help' Buffy told him urgently, sprinting away awkwardly as she tried to collapse the sword back into its forearm scabbard. It wasn't working properly because it was damaged but with her other hand she managed to force it back.

Spike blinked and started running in the opposite direction. He knew he couldn't take Glory, he knew Buffy and him together couldn't.

He just hoped there was someone that could.

**Crawford Street Mansion – Sunnydale – May 2003**

Angel snatched up his favourite broadsword and nodded to Cordelia. 'We'll meet up with the others there' he told her, moving to follow Gunn out of the door. They had been trying to get hold of everyone since all hell broke loose, Andrew and Anya were trying to find Giles and Willow who had gone off to a 24 Hour Convenience store for supplies and Fred, Emily and the twins were getting ready to deal with casualties if needed.

'_Help me_' a voice pleaded on the radio set Cordelia was carrying. She raised the walkie-talkie to her ear as Angel paused to see what the call was about.

'This is Control' Cordelia said. 'Identify yourself' she requested.

'_This is Medousa, I mean the Guardian, I need help am I using this thing right_?'

'I can hear you Guardian. This is Cordy' she replied. 'What's wrong?' she asked.

'_Harbingers_' the radio replied. '_Harbingers at my door. Trying to batter it down._'

'It's all go tonight' Angel said with a grim expression. 'Bastard's trying to make us divide our forces.'

'_Help is on its way_' Cordy told the Guardian. '_Wesley were you listening to that_?' she checked.

'_Roger Control_' Wesley's voice responded, he was in his SUV heading back from the Vineyard.

'Can you and Xander deal?' Cordelia requested. 'We've got Turok-Han coming out of our ears' she told them.

'_We're on it but we could do with another body if there's a lot of them_' Xander responded. He had been over at the vineyard too and they were dashing back together at high speed Xander in the passenger seat loading weapons as Wesley drove.

'No time for that' Cordelia told them, looking at the map of Sunnydale spread out on the floor in front of her. 'Get going' she told Angel.

'Yes Ma'am' Angel replied formally, watching Cordy in take-charge mode ordering slayers, watchers and assorted allies around the town. He saluted with his sword and dashed off after Gunn who would be waiting outside in his truck by now.

'_Cordelia, this is Spike_' a new voice declared.

'Go ahead Spike' Cordelia responded.

'_Buffy needs help_' he said, his desperation evident even through the tinny speaker in the radio.

'Lot's of that going around tonight' Cordelia replied. 'What's up?' she asked. 'Don't tell me you've run into more Turok-Han?'

'_More_?' Spike repeated badly out of the loop. '_No it's not fucking Turok-han, I wish it was only fucking Turok-Han, it's Glory!_'

Cordelia snorted. Trust the blond to go seeking glory somewhere, probably bit off more than she could chew. 'What do you need Spike? We're pushed right to the wire here' she informed him. 'Full scale attack by the First.'

'_Screw the First_' Spike growled. '_Buffy's being chased by Glory. Glory the bloody HellGod_' he explained sharply.

'_You're kidding_' Xander's voice interrupted. '_It's got to be another First fakeout_.'

'_The state of my bleeding face says otherwise_' Spike retorted. '_And I mean bleeding_.'

'_She's dead_' Xander declared with certainty.

'_Well I guess she got better_' Spike retorted sarcastically._ Now would someone help Buffy before Glory rips her in half_ _please_?' he pleaded. '_We separated so I could get help but you're not bloody well helping._'

'_Spike go back and help Buffy_' Giles voice interrupted. Andrew must have found him. '_Cordelia where's the scythe_?' he asked.

'Faith's got it' Cordelia replied. 'She linked up with Molly's Team and they're going to meet up with Rona. I think they'll need it there' she said. 'They're on-foot anyway they'd never get to Buffy on time.'

'_Where's Illyria?_' Wesley asked.

**Warehouse District – Sunnydale – May 2003**

Stephen looked ahead. They were heading towards a residential area, they couldn't lead the uber-vamps there, it would be a slaughter.

Rona was thinking the same thing. 'We need to turn and fight' she said. 'Hold them up, slow them down.'

'No way' one of the other two replied. 'We'll die.'

Stephen suddenly stopped running as did Rona, the other two continued on a few steps then reluctantly stopped too.

'Not exactly the end I was hoping for' Stephen told the slayer, panting breathlessly reaching back for his sword and unhooking the scabbard from round his back. He drew the weapon and threw the scabbard to one side.

'Not exactly the person I was planning to die next to' Rona told him. 'You're too much of an asshole.'

Stephen grinned. 'I'm comfortable in who I am' he replied. 'Being an arsehole is a long and distinguished family tradition' he said, straightening up and getting into a fighting stance.

Rona laughed and drew her short-sword. To her surprise the other two nervously joined them as the mass of Turok-Han approached.

Stephen took a deep breath to steady his breathing and his nerves and quietly began to recite from a poem: 'Then out spoke brave Horatius, the Captain of the Gate. "To every man upon this earth Death cometh soon or late. And how can man die better than facing fearful odds, For the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his Gods?".'

'Shakespeare?' Rona asked.

'Macaulay' Stephen told her. 'I was supposed to be taking my A-Level exams to get into University this month' he said. 'English Literature was my worst subject as it happens. I just always liked that poem' he said.

'How can you be so calm?' the slayer who had wanted to keep running asked as the vampires got closer and closer. She was petrified.

'I was supposed to already be dead by now' Stephen replied. 'Every extra second is a bonus. Anyhow I'm far too knackered to keep running.'

'Knackered? You people just don't speak English properly at all' Rona told him, shaking her sword arm loose.

'When they call the language Americanish you can criticise, until then live with it' Stephen told her wryly.

'I would if I could' Rona told him seriously. God there were a lot of Turok-Han coming she thought.

'Your courage is undeniable' a voice declared from nearby. 'But I know from personal experience that facing overwhelming odds in an alley at night never turns out well' Illyria told them, stepping into the gap between Stephen and Rona.

'Oh thank God' the more panicky of the other two slayers said with relief.

'God-_King_' Illyria corrected her. 'I simply do not understand why you all continually get that wrong' she complained.

The Shaper of Things took a step forward ahead of the others to confront their foe. The Turok-Han stopped in their tracks and edging slowly forward looked at her from no more than thirty yards away, teeth bared in challenge. They were confused, she didn't smell right _at all_.

'I am Illyria, God-King of the Primordium, Shaper of Things' she declared. 'Prostrate yourselves before me and swear fealty or die' she ordered them in her most commanding voice.

The fifty-plus uber-vamps just looked back at her.

'That always worked so much better in my day' Illyria complained bitterly. 'If you flee I will hold them until the other Slayers arrive' she told the four behind her.

'Can't you just do the time thing?' Rona asked.

'Only if I need to' Illyria replied.

'We'll stay' Rona told her. 'If I wasn't going to leave watcher-boy behind I'm not going to leave you either.'

'And for a brief second there I thought I was going to live' Stephen interjected. 'Oh well, easy come easy go' he said looking the Turok-Han over. If he was lucky he might be able to decapitate one before they ate him, he thought to himself, best think positively he decided.

'Connor are you in position?' Illyria called out loudly.

'Yes' a voice replied from above. Rona turned to see Connor standing on the roof of a nearby warehouse. He had a small satchel over his shoulder and was reaching into it.

'When you're ready' Illyria told him. 'The Half-Breed's son has an unusually proficient throwing arm' she said more quietly. 'I plan to duck, you would be best advised to do likewise' she told the others.

Connor pulled an incendiary grenade from his satchel, pulled the pin with his free hand, and hurled it with inhuman speed and accuracy into the midst of the mass of vampires.

Loud and bright wouldn't even _begin_ to describe it.

**Guardians Pyramid – Sunnydale – May 2003**

'We should be helping Buffy' Xander stated, pulling back the cocking lever of his assault rifle as they ran full pelt from the SUV towards the Pyramid.

'We're too far away and I'm not really up for fighting a god right now are you?' Wesley replied, bringing up his own weapon. 'Bloody Hell' he swore, looking at the mass swarming around the small part of the pagan temple visible above ground.

Xander stopped and dropped to one knee for stability, Wesley doing likewise. 'What I wouldn't give for a mortar right now' Xander said.

'We've got one on order but Emil can't source the ammunition' Wesley told him, aiming his G36K. 'If you say "rock and roll" I'll shoot you' he told Xander.

'Let's boogie' Xander replied with a grin and pulled the trigger on his M16A2, Wesley immediately joining in with his own assault rifle.

Bursts of 5.56 millimetre rifle rounds began to rip into the massed Bringers punching right through them. The two shooters were barely two hundred and fifty yards away, firing into a crowd with high-velocity ammunition, the effect was dramatic to say the least, Bringers started falling like leaves in autumn.

The Harbingers stopped trying to break down the door and instantly started running towards Xander and Wesley who continued placing their shots. 'Screw the mortar I want a belt-fed machinegun' Xander yelled over the soon of Wesley firing next to him as he ejected his own empty magazine and snapped another into place.

As his own weapon ran dry and he did the same Wesley considered that it was akin to mowing down troops on the western front in the Great War. Poor bastards must be students of the 1914 school of tactics, he thought, run or walk straight into automatic weapons fire like a load of bloody idiots. The problem was there was so damn many of them. Their losses were ludicrous but they kept coming and they were scattering more, so a single burst didn't bring down more than one or two at a time.

Xander reloaded yet again. It was strange that it all felt so natural doing this, he considered, those soldier-boy memories weren't real but they felt as real as any others, it was sort of like his memories of Dawn growing up, he knew those were false too but it was simply impossible to tell the difference.

'Bringers' Wesley yelled out, laughing manically, 'Thousands of 'em' he declared. 'Where's a hundred singing Welshmen with Martini-Henry rifles when you need them?' he asked nobody in particular reloading yet again. 'Volley by ranks' he called out starting to fire again. Not having seen the film Zulu Xander had absolutely no idea what he was going on about but he was starting to seriously doubt the Englishman's sanity.

'We're going to get overrun' Xander shouted, standing up and starting to walk backwards still firing. Wesley joined him after burning off his clip but instead of reloading with another thirty-round clip he pulled a hundred round drum magazine from the small khaki bag he'd been carrying over his shoulder and switched his G36K over to fully automatic.

'Come on then' Wesley howled defiantly and shouldered the rifle pulling the trigger. Fighting the recoil and the muzzle-climb he hosed a stream of fire into the Bringers some of whom were barely twenty yards distant by now.

His M16A2 could only fire semi-auto or three-round burst but Xander was pouring it on almost as fast. The Bringer's finally started to break, one got close enough to Wes that he had to dodge a swinging axe but Xander blew its head off before it could have another go.

'What the bloody hell?' Wesley queried, as he ejected the empty drum magazine and looked around. 'Where the hell did they all go?' he asked in confusion.

'I think we killed them all' Xander told him, looking around. 'It's a slaughterhouse.'

Wesley shook his head. 'There were more of them than this, they just stopped coming' he said, breathing heavily with the adrenaline. 'It's a diversion' he declared. 'It was just a sodding diversion. The rest of them have buggered off.'

Xander looked around again. There were literally dozens of Bringers laying around shot to pieces. Many were still writhing in agony, though silently. '_This_ was a fucking diversion?' he asked in astonishment.

'The First doesn't give a crap about these tossers' Wesley told him, reloading his rifle. 'Illyria killed a damn sight more than this on her own at the Vineyard. It probably thought we'd send a load of slayers here so the Bringers could keep them busy. I doubt we're important enough to enter into the equation' he decided.

'Buffy!' Xander remembered.

Wesley pulled out his radio. 'Guardian this is Wesley can you hear me?' he asked.

'_Yes Shadowman I can hear you_.'

The former watcher growled at the back of his throat at the name she referred to him and the other Council Watchers by. 'We've dealt with the Harbingers, we think there were more but they're leaving. You probably heard the noise' he told her.

'_I guessed that was you Shadowman I am grateful_.'

'You're welcome' Wesley responded. 'We're coming to get you open the door and get ready to run we're in a hurry' he advised, starting to head towards the Pyramid at a trot with Xander following. They weaved around fallen Bringers keeping as much distance from them as possible.

'The Cops have _got_ to come to investigate this' Xander said. 'It must have sounded like a Wedding Celebration in Baghdad' he quipped.

'Bet you a hundred dollars they're too busy back in town' Wesley responded. 'This is a bleeding sideshow' he asserted knowingly.

**Warehouse District – Sunnydale – May 2003**

The phosphorus grenades, three of them in fact that Connor had thrown one after the other, had certainly made an impression on the Turok-Han, as did Connor himself as he jumped straight down from the roof into the midst of battle, but they really wouldn't have stood a chance against the enemy if Illyria hadn't been there too. As the uber-vamps launched a ragged attack, some of them grievously injured by gobbets of molten burning metal their bodies actually _smoking_ as they charged, the Old One acted like a rock upon which the waves of Turok-Han broke.

Lashing out with punches and kicks that could dent armour plate Illyria smashed the creatures aside, the three slayers and Connor using her almost as a shield as they did battle with the vamps that got past her, or that she threw aside. Stephen stayed back, he knew he didn't stand a chance against this powerful a foe, but he did try his best to help dashing forward with his sword whenever he could without getting too close. A single blow from a Turok-Han could easily shatter his frail human form.

A police car screeched to a halt behind them sirens wailing. Stephen turned around and despite the situation couldn't help himself. 'Move along please' he shouted to the two Patrolman staring in astonishment at the melee battle through the windshield. 'Nothing to see here' he added, laughing like a lunatic before turning back to the action.

A scream from behind caused the policemen, still in the car and not remotely interested in getting out, to spin around in their seats just as a dozen teenage girls came sprinting from two different directions. One of them jumped into the air in a leap that no Olympic athlete could match, landed on the roof of the patrol car and then leapt again into the midst of the battle howling like a banshee, a gleaming battleaxe in her hands which she bought down on the skull of what looked like a goddamn _monster_ and cleaved in it two, the long way.

Another vehicle arrived with screaming brakes as a beat up white pickup truck came hurtling up barely stopping in time not to crash into the back of the patrol car. Two large muscular looking men, one white one black jumped out and practically dove into the back of the truck coming back out carrying the largest damn guns either of the Cops had ever seen.

The black guy looked into the Patrol Car. 'If you tell anyone about this they ain't _ever_ going to believe you' he told them. 'So if you're thinking of filling out a report don't' he told them bringing the grenade-launcher to his shoulder. 'Make a hole' he bellowed, causing a pair of slayers to jump out of the way as he pulled the trigger.

The grenade-launcher boomed, the recoil slamming hard back into his shoulder. The steel cored wooden stake blasted forwards and slammed into the chest of a Turok-Han dusting it instantly, the round kept going and impaled itself in another, missing the heart but sending it spinning with the impact. Angel joined him and fired off all six of his own rounds in rapid succession being far more able to handle the recoil than Gunn, before dropping the weapon and going back for his broadsword.

More slayers converged and soon the road was filled with Turok-Han fighting against heavily-armed vampire slayers.

'Illyria' Faith yelled out, arriving with a new group holding the scythe aloft as much as a totem as a weapon. 'Buffy needs you' she called.

'I am needed here' Illyria replied, ripping the head clean off the nearest uber-vamp which exploded into dust.

'We can handle this' Faith told her. 'We can't handle a god' she insisted.

'A _what_?' Illyria yelled back in confusion.

**Eastern Suburbs – Sunnydale - May 2003**

She's playing with me Buffy realised as she was thrown into another wall, at least twenty feet off the ground, ricocheting off and falling hard to earth.

The HellGod had caught up with Buffy after a three mile chase. She was certainly more determined this time if nothing else the slayer thought as she tried to get back up but failed. A little voice inside told Buffy she was all broken up inside and if she took any more punishment all the slayer-healing in the world wouldn't save her.

Buffy tried to rise again but collapsed, the pain was indescribable. Blood was pouring from her battered nose and she was down at least three ribs minimum, it hurt to breathe, she might be looking at a punctured lung anytime soon.

Dawn, Buffy realised, Glory would go after Dawn.

The slayer gritted her teeth and through sheer effort of will hauled herself to her feet, tears streaming from her eyes, she turned her head and spat blood onto the ground, one of her teeth went with it. Glory had been pounding on her for what seemed like forever. Time doesn't exactly fly when your having your teeth knocked out.

The HellGod walked over, barefoot after the chase. She was wearing a red satin dress which she'd chosen because it hid all the slayer blood she'd expected to get on it. 'You're no competition but if I'd known it was this much fun I'd have beaten the crap out of you the first time we met' Glory told her. 'Of course then there wouldn't have been a _second_ meeting.'

Holding her left arm over her broken ribs Buffy activated the collapsible sword again and swung it weakly at Glory who simply stepped forward and caught the blade in her hand before snapping it like a twig and hurling the blade away.

Buffy stepped forward and threw the best punch she could muster. It caught Glory on the side of the chin but her head barely moved at all. The slayers strength was spent.

The HellGod took hold of Buffy's right arm and broke it as easily as she had the sword. Buffy fell to the ground screaming and broken as her legs gave way beneath her.

Something slammed into the back of Glory's head causing it to rock forward. 'Everyone messes with the hair' she snarled and span to receive another blow around the head from the thick heavy iron railing that spike had wrenched free from a nearby fence as a weapon.

She let him hit her twice more then snatched the thing from his hands and ran him through with it. It wouldn't dust the vampire but it would immobilise him, she could have killed him easily but Glory liked an audience, she picked him up and stuck him to the closest wall like a butterfly pinned to a mounting board.

'Screw you' Spike growled, fighting through the pain and trying to pull himself off the railing.

'I'm not interested in her cast-offs' Glory told him and slapped him around the head in a stunning blow before turning back to Buffy.

The slayer looked up at her through the tears. 'Don't let them bring me back again' she cried out to Spike who screamed in response, tears starting to roll down his face too as he still tried desperately to free himself. He tried to save her though he knew he couldn't, he'd always try, never give up and go down fighting.

'Let's finish this in style' Glory said, becoming a blur as she moved with superhuman speed towards Buffy, readying a fist to crush her skull.

Buffy saw death. Then the blur that was Glory suddenly hurtled away sideways and _another_ blur appeared in front of her, snapping back into focus a split second before a boom echoed across the neighbourhood.

Returning to normal speed Glory hit the ground and rolled to a stop looking back at where she had come from.

Illyria looked down at Buffy then turned and faced Glory leaning her head to the side.

Buffy realised what the boom had been. The God-King must have altered the flow of time then sprinted to get here. She'd actually broken the damn sound barrier and probably left a sonic shockwave across half of Sunnydale en-route. If you want to get saved at the last second in style you couldn't do much better than that she decided.

Glory got to her feet. 'Ah the main event' she said. 'Illyria the Old One I presume?' she asked.

Illyria looked her over. 'Glorificus the HellGod' she responded then smiled. 'Finally a worthy opponent' she said. 'I will turn your skull into a chalice for my temple as a mark of respect' she informed the other diety.

'I was thinking a blue throw rug for mine' Glory retorted.

'Kill the bitch' Buffy told Illyria weakly. 'Make it hurt' she added with all the force she could muster.

'I will and it will' Illyria vowed then moved to the attack. This timeline was just getting better and better she thought to herself happily.


	22. Chapter 22

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO**

**Eastern Suburbs – Sunnydale - May 2003**

A few lights came on in nearby houses, most of the people who lived in this area had already moved away but those that remained had been awakened by the sonic boom of Illyria's arrival. For that matter you could trace her path across town by the people she had woken right along her route.

The God-King had used her more arcane powers a great deal getting here. It was advisable not to use any more for now unless absolutely necessary. Conversely the HellGod was also limited in how much she could expend her powers or she would more rapidly revert to Ben. They both therefore thought it was in their interest to do this the simple way like ordinary people, well ordinary people who could kick the door off a bank vault anyhow.

Glory made the first move, lunging forward with a right cross like a prize fighter. All power no technique, Spike thought, tearing himself off the iron railing that had pinned him to a wall. Illyria though, now _she_ had style he decided, watching her lean back to effortlessly dodge the blow and then taking hold of the outstretched arm to perform an honest-to-god Judo throw on Glory, using the HellGods own strength against her, sending her to the ground. The HellGod had unbalanced herself for the sloppy punch and paid for it hard.

Half-Crawling towards Buffy, Spike also noted that Illyria was nasty too. With her enemy on the ground Blue immediately stepped forward and viciously followed-up the throw by kicking her opponent hard in the torso, sending the HellGod spinning away with a loud "Oof" as the wind was knocked out of her.

Coming to a halt Glory flipped herself back to her feet, she wasn't entirely lacking in martial arts ability, she was usually just too overconfident and self-assured to use it. Now Illyria had her full attention that would change. She was also now wearing a mask of rage on her face, teeth bared and eyes blazing.

That's it, Buffy thought, holding her ribs in pain watching from the sidelines, fight mad, fight with your instincts not your brains. Illyria liked to fight, it was obvious to anyone that knew her, but she treated it more professionally, it wasn't just a matter of liking to hit things, it was the winning that counted. To live forever and conquer all, that she said was true victory, the hitting people was just part of the process not the end in itself. Both of them had a superiority complex, the difference was that Illyria was more realistic about her abilities and maybe just a tad less egotistical with it too.

The Shaper of Things, latterly the Re-Shaper as she sometimes styled herself in this new timeline of her own devising, looked her opponent over dispassionately. There was power there, immense power even though both of them were a mere shadow of their former greatness in this time and place. They both wore shells that could contain barely a fragment of their true nature, Glory's had been purposely made to contain her as a prison of sorts, Illyria's imprisoned her too although by accident rather than design. In their shells they were but pale imitations of what they really were, that they seemed so powerful to others here simply proved the weakness of the creatures of this realm.

Glory got into a proper fighting stance of sorts, she was taking things seriously now the pain in her ribs from the kick had been an especially rude awakening. Illyria matched her, though with a more fluid and graceful movement. Unlike Glory she actually practiced for combat, despite not generally needing to considering how relatively weak her opponents tended to be. Her dedication and professionalism was about to prove its worth.

'I'm stronger than you' Glory asserted. She could sense her opponents' power too and leaped to the attack throwing punches and kicks which Illyria blocked, parried or dodged, retaliating with quick jabs to the HellGods face and body. One punch got through Illyria's guard, sending her head flying back as Glory's fist connected with her face, but the Old One simply moved backwards in response to widen the gap between them. A drop of blue tinged blood dripped from the God-Kings left nostril but her expression was one of amusement rather than pain or fear.

'I am faster and more proficient at combat' Illyria stated. 'You are not sufficiently superior in strength than I to outweigh my superiority in other areas. I am willing to accept your supplication. You would make a reasonably adequate pet' Illyria told her. 'I have been God to a God before' she told her. 'You would find me a fair master though I would have to beat the obstinacy and pride out of you.'

Glory snorted derisively. 'Who's bleeding here bitch?' she asked sarcastically.

'I was only playing with you' Illyria retorted smugly and launched into a perfectly untelegraphed Taekwondo-style kick to Glory's head which caught her completely unawares and knocked her sideways totally off balance, Illyria followed up quick a flash with a leg sweep that knocked Glory clean off her feet and sent the HellGod crashing down onto the roadway. 'No more than two or three millennia of daily beatings' she told Glory. 'You can still take me up on the offer' she continued reasonably.

Kneeling beside Buffy and cradling her as best he could Spike inwardly winced watching the fight. He seen Illyria work before, using him as a punchbag in fact, and then she'd been pulling her punches and kicks. This was full contact and it looked painful, not painful enough as far as he was concerned but the Hell-Bitch was about to get a right pasting, he thought, and it couldn't happen to someone that deserved it more.

Glory expected to get kicked in the ribs again and rolled back into an upright position fast before Illyria could follow up with some more blows. She wasn't badly injured but that kick to the head had really stung and her ear ached where Illyria's foot had mashed it against her skull.

They exchanged blows for the next few minutes. Glory threw more, and they were stronger, but less connected as she simply wasn't as skilled or practised as her opponent. Even so the punches and kicks that _did_ connect with Illyria were bone-crunchingly powerful and the Old One was knocked flying more than once. She was also favouring her left arm a touch after using it to deflect one of Glory's kicks away from her body. Even so Illyria just kept chopping away with jabs and fast, sharp kicks to the HellGod's body that were starting to tell as the fight went on. Glory was being pecked to death and the cumulative effect was building, she got increasingly sloppy to the extent that Illyria managed to get close enough to deliver an uppercut that lifted her off her feet and which had Glory's eyes rolling in their sockets for a split second when she hit the ground on her back like felled lumber, it was that jarring.

With a scream of rage Glory leaped up and launched herself into a headlong charge which Illyria _almost_ managed to avoid but she found herself grappled to the ground. The HellGod had finally realised that if she wanted her superior strength to tell it meant wrestling was a better bet than trying to match the Old One in the more technique based, rather than strength orientated, martial arts. The two of them rolled on the ground in a messy brawl until Illyria found herself pinned down and to her horror Glory got an arm free.

Glory punched Illyria in the face hard. The force of the blow was incredible, the back of her head cracked the asphalt behind it as the impact drove it downwards. 'Are you still playing now?' Glory bellowed 'Are you having fun?' she continued and punched Illyria again. A third blow smashed the God-Kings nose and her blood splattered over Glory. Unlike the slayers blood, Glory's red outfit did nothing to hide Illyria's.

Twisting and finding leverage at last Illyria flipped the two of them over and tried to retaliate in kind but Glory grabbed and held her arms grinning. Illyria couldn't break her grip, try as she might, and the HellGod looked at her in triumph.

The God-King pulled her head back then slammed it down into Glory's face in a brutal headbutt. It hurt the HellGod, she could tell, but Glory kept holding on regardless. 'No that ain't going to get the job done' Glory said scornfully, then something in Illyria's glacial blue eyes made her instantly regret saying it as Illyria headbutted her again. Then she did it again, and again and again smashing her forehead as hard as she could repeatedly into the Hellgods face.

Around about the seventh consecutive headbutt, and with the Old One really starting to feel it herself too as it seemed to Illyria as if she was driving her head into marble, Glory released her grip. Her skull had been driven back at least four inches into the roadway by the repeated blows and her face was a bloody shattered mess. Illyria pulled herself upwards, sat astride the HellGods chest and started punching her repeatedly on the face and jaw, pummelling her with a rain of clenched fists, her own face distorted with anger by now.

'Okay' Buffy said to Spike, still cradling her. 'When she gets pissed off she gets even meaner' she observed, as Illyria continued to almost clinically pound the Hellgod senseless.

Using her greater strength Glory finally managed to knock Illyria off her and the two rolled away from each other. As they rose to their feet the HellGod spat blood onto the ground and glared at Illyria furiously. 'Do you have any idea how many hours it'll take for this to heal?' she growled, indicating her face. Buffy would have made a crack about having improved her looks but Illyria just ignored her and got ready for the next exchange of blows.

Illyria took the offensive this time, feinting she was going to come in low but somehow twisting into a spinning roundhouse kick that knocked Glory clean off her feet. Before the Hellgod could get out of the way the Old One took a leaf out of her own book and dropped onto her in a wrestling move elbow first putting all her weight into it, then using her flattened hand like an axe she chopped Glory across the throat as hard as possible. It didn't make the impression she'd hoped for damage wise but it might shut her up a bit at least she hoped.

Another powerful counter-punch, this time to the torso, knocked Illyria clear and she was sent spinning away as Glory got back up, holding her throat and seething with rage. This was so not going the way she expected she thought as Illyria collected herself and attacked yet again. The First had been right, the Old One _was_ the damn Energizer Bunny, she just kept coming Glory realised despondantly.

Expecting it was another feint Glory ignored the incoming blow. This time however it wasn't and Illyria caught her with a neat one-two punch combination to the jaw followed by a slightly sadistic kick to the shin. The HellGod retaliated with punches to Illyria midriff but she soon realised that her damn armour was cushioning the impacts, it looked like leather but it sure as hell wasn't. The damn stuff almost seemed to harden under impact and spread the force over a wider area so local damage was minimised. The HellGod decided she needed a weapon better than her bare hands and fists to get a killing blow and despite her greater strength it was becoming increasingly self-evident that she was taking cumulative damage far faster than her foe.

Illyria cracked Glory across the face with a backhanded slap that was as much intended as an insult to her dignity as an attempt to hurt her. Glory slapped her back with greater visible effect rolling her head to the side sharply but the blow, which would have torn a humans head off, didn't phase the Old One at all, she bought her head back up then in a moment of inspired unpleasantness stamped on Glory's bare foot then punched her with all her might in the gut doubling her over.

'Here we go' Spike yelled, realising what was about to happen as Illyria grabbed the HellGods head, using her long blond hair as an anchor, and bought her knee up hard into Glory's face in a moment of sublime ferocity. She did it twice more then with the final blow she let go of Glory's hair so the impact threw her backwards. The HellGod lost her footing and fell flat on her ass once again before collapsing completely, slumping to the side. Glory had been hit by a truck and a wrecking ball, but she'd never rate those blows highly again after having what Buffy jokingly referred to as later as Illyria going "Primordial on her ass".

It got worse, Glory could feel Ben coming for an instant before some external power suppressed him, Cyvus Vail to the rescue but she really had to leave now because the Old One would rip her brother in half and the ugly little demon couldn't keep Ben down forever.

'Finish it' Buffy screamed. 'Kill her' she implored.

Illyria walked over to Glory's prostrate form. Lacking a weapon such as the scythe to dismember her with, the only option was to beat the HellGod to death. She was about to start when a fireball caught her square in the back and bought her to her knees, right next to Glory.

Vail's voice boomed telepathically in Glory's mind. '_Get up and run you fool_' it ordered as another fireball hit Illyria knocking her back down with a cry of pain, as she attempted to rise once again. '_I can't both keep Ben suppressed and use magicks powerful enough to hurt the Old One too for very long_.' Vail told Glory, with his sense of overriding urgency ringing in her mind.

'Where are they coming from?' Buffy asked as another fireball hurtled from the distance to strike Illyria who had turned on her knees to face the direction they were hitting her from. The sphere of magical energy crashed into her armour and singed both the exposed flesh of her already bloody face and her long blue streaked hair.

Buffy couldn't see where they were arriving from, nor could Spike even with his vampire senses and he vamped out to access his best night-vision, but Illyria's eyesight was far superior to theirs, it extended higher and lower in the electromagnetic spectrum ranging from Infra-Red right up to Ultra-Violet and she could choose to magnify the image like an inbuilt zoom. With her enhanced eyesight the God-King could easily see who was doing it, and she knew him very well. He would likely have normally travelled under a glamour to disguise his true features when out in the world but to project that as well would have been too much even for him. He was stood next to a black Hummer four-wheel-drive which also looked all too familiar to her eyes, someone else was dealing themselves into the game and Illyria knew exactly who the new player was.

As Glory dragged herself away from the fight and started fleeing, Illyria initially tried to pursue but another magical blow dropped her hard and she gave up on the attempt. There would be a reckoning and she would be ready for _both_ of them next time. There was no point in getting scorched any more tonight she decided, parts of her armour were already blackened and although it would heal as she would, it looked aesthetically displeasing enough already.

Glory and Vail got into the Hummer which soon disappeared from even the God-Kings sight driving off at speed into the distance. Illyria hauled herself off the ground and headed for Buffy and Spike. 'I will kill her next time' she promised, blood still dripping from her injured face and moving awkwardly from other internal injuries. She was hurt worse than Glory would have realised, Illyria was stoic in the extreme and didn't show her discomfort easily, but none of the damage was too serious thanks to both her skill and her armour.

'You alright?' Spike asked Illyria. 'You took some hard knocks' he observed.

'I will heal' Illyria declared. 'Faster than _she_ will certainly' she added imperiously, indicating the direction in which Glory had fled.

'What was with the Fireballs?' Buffy asked, rising to her feet with both a grimace and Spike's assistance, she had seen the like before, from Willow as it happens in her dark and veiny days, and she knew it took serious mojo to do something like that. Spike was in severe pain himself, the wound through his body from the railing was drenching his clothes in blood. More importantly, he realised in a moment of clarity, there was now a hole in his sodding coat too godammit. That duster held extreme sentimental value he thought angrily, maybe he could get a replacement made from Glory's hide when the Blue-Meanie met up with her again he idly wondered?

The God-King touched her broken nose gingerly and then reset it with a cringe inducing cracking sound that made Buffy wince despite her own troubles. 'The First has recruited allies and not just Glorificus' Illyria announced. 'I knew that warlock in the original timeline' she told them, 'he is a demon called Cyvus Vail.'

'How'd you know him?' the slayer asked, her breathing shallow so as not to put pressure on her broken ribs, she really didn't want a punctured lung right now.

'He is one of the leaders of the Wolf, Ram and Hart in this dimension' Illyria answered. 'He was also the being that killed Wesley' she said with a slight crack in her voice when she uttered the words. 'In revenge I drove my fist through his skull' she stated coldly. 'It was extremely satisfying' she declared, 'though quicker and less painful than he deserved, and it did not bring my Wesley back' she added with a hint of sadness now entering her tone. It was so strange, Buffy thought, she was so inhuman and yet so human too.

'Warlock eh?' Spike responded, not pleased at the news. He liked enemies you could punch in the face without being turned into a frog for your troubles. 'Powerful?' he asked, already knowing he must be to do the magical fireball thing. That kind of juice you couldn't get from any old magic shop, _that_ was the real deal.

'Extremely' Illyria replied. 'When I meet Glory in battle again the witch must be at my side to counter him' she said, touching her face. 'It feels like the shells memories of sunburn' she told them, touching the skin where it had been scorched by the fireballs.

'Smells more like pork roast' Spike interjected. 'No offence' he added before calling for someone to pick them up on his radio. Wesley said he and Xander were already en-route after picking up the Guardian and they'd be there shortly.

'Wolfram and Hart' Buffy said, shaking her head as Spike relayed the story of what had happened to everyone listening on their secure channel. 'I guess we're making waves that people don't want made' she said looking into the distance before turning to Illyria. 'That war you wanted' she said. 'I think they just declared it.'

The God-King nodded her agreement. 'It is for the best' she replied. 'My various plans to provoke it behind your back were fraught with possible dangers. Not the least of which would have been the possibility of me getting decapitated by the scythe when you found out' she said with some reasonable disquiet at the notion.

Buffy frowned but regretted the facial movement, it hurt like pretty much everything she did at the moment 'You were going to do that?' she asked, not however entirely surprised by the revelation.

'If required' Illyria told her flatly.

'You can't play by your own rules Blue' Buffy told her seriously while probing the inside of her own mouth with her tongue. All those fights over the years and now she loses a damn tooth. At least she could afford a good dentist these days, she considered, the metallic taste of blood filling her mouth as she accidentally started it bleeding again.

The God-King looked at her askance then smiled. 'Sometimes I am compelled to' she replied then looked to Spike 'You are severely injured' she told him. 'I will carry her' she said and picked up Buffy in her arms cradling her like a child careful to avoid hurting her. 'You should take better care of yourself Buffy' she advised. 'I will not always be there to save you and none of the other slayers could easily take over your leadership role at this time' Illyria told her.

'I thought _you_ were after my job, surprised you'd want me around' Buffy replied, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth and trying not to chuckle, it would have hurt like hell.

Illyria looked puzzled. 'Do I really seem that unambitious?' she asked curiously. 'I know I have fallen far but to think I might aspire to replace the likes of you? It's practically insulting' she stated sincerely. 'No offence meant' she quickly added to be polite and gave Buffy an amiable smile, there was no cause to be rude she considered, Wesley had after all suggested she try to be more cordial in her inter-personal dealings since they would make her life here go more smoothly.

'None taken' Buffy replied with perhaps a little less sincerity in her voice than Illyria had managed.


	23. Chapter 23

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE**

**Summers Residence – Sunnydale – May 2003**

'Oh God' Dawn cried out, her hand over her mouth when she opened the door to see her sister in Illyria's arms. Buffy had insisted on not going to the hospital, she'd heal on her own and she said she wanted to go home. She just wanted to go home.

'Take her upstairs' Dawn instructed, and ran ahead to Buffy's room, with Illyria carrying the slayer behind her, both of them dripping blood onto the carpet. In a moment of wry humour Wesley had told them during the drive from where he'd picked them up that one of them was definitely going to be scrubbing the red and blue stains off his car seats the following day and to his surprise Illyria had taken his words at face value and said she would do it. He had to quickly explain he was only kidding.

Illyria laid Buffy down gently on the bed and left Dawn to it after telling her she had already reset Buffy's broken arm and bound it as best as could be managed with some cloth. Spike had followed them up and stood there looking down at Buffy holding his own wound but the pain of seeing her laying there like that was a lot worse than a mere hole through the chest.

Xander had fetched bandages from the kitchen, they always kept a good stock, and he was wondering if he should offer to help Dawn when Willow dashed past him, went white as a sheet looking at the state Buffy was in, then snatched the bandages from him and told him and Spike to get out, the tone of her voice making clear it wasn't a request. Buffy asked where Giles was and Willow replied that he, Andrew and Anya had gone to Angel's Mansion to try and help coordinate things from there.

When Illyria got back downstairs Wesley got his first proper look at her in decent light, the Guardian had been sitting quietly and praying, and Wesley was resisting the urge to make a comment that something a bit more concrete and proactive might get better results, when he turned away to see the bloody face and scorched skin and armour of the God-King. She must have read his concern in his face because she shook her head. 'I am not badly injured do not concern yourself' she told him. 'The cuts and burns will heal rapidly' she said. 'The bleeding from my nose is almost finished and I will take a shower to wash off the residue' she continued. 'Much of the mess is Buffy's blood and a not inconsiderable amount is Glory's' she said with satisfaction 'especially in my hair' she added.

Wesley regarded her normally blue-streaked locks, they were almost as much red now thanks to what Spike had told them in the car was Illyria giving Glory a serious taste of the good old Glasgow Kiss. The vampire had been almost reverent in his description of the fight, offering nothing but praise for the Old One's fighting technique and pure unbridled viciousness as she headbutted, kicked, kneed and punched the HellGod into a bloody mess. 'You should take that shower right now' he suggested. He didn't really know what he could do to help her and he felt useless.

Illyria however _did_ know something he could do. 'In the original timeline you once produced a healing paste that was effective in speeding my recovery from a fight' she told him. 'You ground it yourself and put it on fabric to make a bandage of sorts. If you insist on aiding me that would be of greatest utility' she suggested.

'Right yes' Wesley replied with realisation. 'I know what you mean, I suppose it would be a more effective treatment than conventional medicine given your rather… different… physiology' he told her. 'I think I've got some of what I need in the car and I bet I can find the rest here what with Willow and Giles being around. I'll try and make some up while you take that shower' he said rapidly and dashed off.

Illyria watched him go about his business and smiled. He was genuinely concerned for her, and it was a pleasant thought that he was, although a more rational part of her did think that having to get repeatedly struck by the punches and kicks of a HellGod was a high price to pay for some sympathy and perhaps some possible signs of growing affection.

'You did well to save the slayer Old One' the Guardian told her, finishing her prayers. 'I still do not understand your actions and do not trust you, but you have my thanks.'

The God-King turned to look at the ancient woman. 'I require neither your understanding, your trust or your regard' she replied. 'It was only your ability to make slayer weapons that gave you value in my eyes and I was pleased to see, during the fight earlier with the Turok-Han, that the swords you enchanted did in fact prove their worth' she told her before adding the off-handed comment, 'although you have been lax in your production of them.'

'I'm an old woman' the Guardian replied curtly, stung by the God-Kings rebuke, but not surprised at the latent hostility between them. 'I cannot work harder than I am' she said.

'I predate your earliest ancestor having developed vertebrae' Illyria retorted. 'Do not use age as an excuse to me' she told her. 'I am going to wash myself' she declared. 'Try and make yourself useful in the meantime' she continued. 'Many tired and possibly injured slayers will return from battle soon. If you truly care for them you could prepare food and drink for them instead of offering another prayer to whichever God it is that you worship.'

The Guardian found herself angry now for the first time in centuries. Strangely it made her feel more alive as well as very hostile towards Illyria. 'Do not dismiss the Goddess, demon' she snarled. 'She watches over and protects us.'

Already heading for the doorway Illyria stopped and turned back. 'The only deity around here that is doing anything to protect any of you as far as I can determine is the one that's about to take a shower' she said with a definitely superior air. 'You seem younger when you are riled' she continued after a pause, 'I will have to provoke you more often it may boost your value to us' the God-King stated, leaving a definite impression behind that she had been playing a little mind-game with the Guardian who now realised she had just been manipulated a treat while she went to prepare refreshments.

Passing Illyria at the bottom of the stairs Spike stumbled and someone caught him, though not to his surprise Blue. It was instead Xander that grabbed his arm to steady the vampire. Spike was pretty beat up himself and somewhat to the discomfort of both of them Xander helped him to a chair and sat him down. 'I'm not donating any blood' Xander told the vampire half-jokingly.

'I know you're the pin-up boy of the evil undead and demons everywhere' Spike replied, 'but you don't send _my_ tastebuds a tingling' he told him.

'You say that' Xander replied with a grin, 'but everything, and I mean _thing_, wants a bite of the Xand man we both know it' he declared.

Spike looked at him askance. 'Angel might go for it but I just don't swing that way' he told him, tongue in cheek. 'That bleeding hell-bitch' he said, looking down at his chest, 'she did me over proper' he moaned.

'What she use?' Xander queried, pointing at Spike's gaping wound.

'Iron railing' the vampire replied. 'Of course I bent it over her head a bit first' he told him.

Xander nodded. 'Remember when I hit Glory with that tire-iron?' he asked. 'I think it hurt me more than her' he recalled. 'Hard head' he added sympathetically.

'Ever seen an unstoppable force hit an immovable object?' Spike asked thoughtfully, he was trying to keep his mind on anything but Buffy. 'I mean I'm not one for philosophy, but watching Illyria clash heads with Glory was a bit like that' he told him. 'Bloody great sound it made too' he added with a vindictive smile. 'Christ I enjoyed watching the Blue Meanie get stuck in' he declared. 'So how did you get on tonight?'

'Killed a crap-load of Bringers' Xander replied, 'saved the girl too' he added indicating the Guardian. '_Really_ hoping she _doesn't_ want to show her gratitude' he joked. 'Unless she's thinking Wesley in which case that would be funny' he said.

'Nah, she's too young for Wesley' Spike replied. 'He like's 'em a bit more seasoned these days' he told him then paused. 'Having seen her in action though I think sex with Blue might kill him' he opined. 'Let's not warn the bloke' he continued with a grin. 'If you've got to go you can't beat an exit like that.'

**Crawford Street Mansion – Sunnydale – May 2003**

Faith dropped into a chair and passed the scythe to Molly who smiled as its power flowed through her. 'We've got seven girls in hospital, three in intensive care, one of them is on a ventilator' she told Giles. 'Of the rest we've got another nine who'll be out of action at least a couple of days' she said.

'But no fatalities?' Giles checked.

Faith shook her head. 'Fuck knows how but no' she confirmed. 'Assuming Caroline makes it through the night' she added. If she did her slayer healing would get a chance to do its stuff and she'd be fine, at the moment though a machine was doing most of her breathing for her.

Giles leaned back and half sat on the table behind him. 'I heard from Wesley on the radio' he told Faith. 'Buffy was badly hurt, broken arm and ribs, probable internal injuries' he said. He was naturally fretful about Buffy's condition, but it didn't seem _drastically_ serious and he was needed more here at present.

'But nothing life-threatening right?' Faith asked nervously. It seemed callous, and she was guilty about it, but she was _so_ not wanting to be in charge right now, and that was more to the forefront of her mind than Buffy's wellbeing.

'She'll recover' Giles replied. 'We've still got Glory out there to contend with' he said looking around the room at the various slayers dotted around. 'She _toyed_ with Buffy, she'd kill any of you in an instant' he advised them. 'If you meet her, run like hell' he advised candidly.

'If I meet her I'll stick the scythe up her arse' Molly responded coldly, brandishing it.

The watcher shook his head. 'She's still many times stronger than you and faster than anything you can imagine fighting if she uses her powers' he told them. 'Even if the scythe will injure her, as we believe it will, you'd still have to get the chance to use it, which also means getting close enough to get your head knocked off, and I'm not exaggerating about the head.'

'Illyria took her down' Kennedy pointed out. 'She can take her again' she said. 'Screw it, get Blue to hold the bitch down and one of us can take the scythe and chop _her_ fucking head off' she declared, 'then we'll stick it in a box and mail it to those pricks at Wolfram and Hart' she said. They'd been filled in on a lot of the story thanks to Cordelia who was still manning the radio and relaying messages and information back and forth.

'Fucking A' one of the other slayers responded in agreement with Kennedy's suggested course of action.

'Language' Giles chided the girl, unable to help himself. She couldn't have been more than fifteen.

The twins appeared with trays of drinks and started handing them out making themselves useful. They had been raised to serve the cause all their short lives and if they could do so best by serving drinks right now they would. Giles smiled at them, he was starting to develop parental thoughts towards them, as he had with Buffy though that took far longer. She had of course been older and frankly far more of a pain in the arse, so it had taken a while. It was becoming clear to him that he wanted children, but he was also starting to think he was getting a bit too old perhaps. The other problem was of course that he didn't actually have a partner to carry out the major part of the operation.

Emily was putting a bandage around Stephens arm, fussing more than he felt the injury deserved. He had, much to his embarrassment and annoyance, not in fact been injured by a Turok-Han but instead by an overenthusiastic slayer who had swung her sword around with insufficient regard for her companions. He was only lucky she hadn't cut his head off rather than nicked his left arm as he frantically dodged the wild swing. Stephen was glaring at the girl concerned who was unable to look back and blushing considerably. She saw a vision of the future and much of it involved getting hit with bamboo rods during incessant fencing practice with a vengeful trainee watcher.

Angel had been pacing, it wasn't usually his way but he was worried for Buffy too whilst simultaneously seething at the revelation of Wolfram and Hart's involvement. They _had_ been in opposition to the First, which is why they had given up the amulet without too much fuss, but they clearly considered Buffy's new army a major threat, especially if they thought Illyria was going to be involved. Angel had been the loose cannon they had fretted about for years but by comparison a rogue Old One was a loose artillery brigade. The old clichéd adage of your enemies enemy being your friend had come into play. Evildoers of the world unite you have nothing to lose but your mutual hatred of each other, he thought wryly.

'So what now?' Kennedy asked Giles.

'We dig in and get ready to see what they do next while our forces recover' Giles replied.

'Bullshit' Angel responded. 'Enough of the wait and see crap, you want to win, be the hunter not the prey' he declared. 'Don't wait for another ambush, take the fight to them' he said forecefully.

Faith nodded. 'I'm with Fang' she agreed. 'Better to be out there doing something than waiting around waiting for the axe to fall, or the HellGod' she continued. 'We've still got slayers coming out of our ears, more guns than the 82nd Airborne, Willow the super-witch and we've already shown the bastards that _our_ God-bitch is a damn sight tougher than _their_ God-bitch.'

'Buffy's the boss' Vi interrupted. 'It's her decision.'

'She's out of the game for now' Faith responded with a lot more confidence in her voice than she felt. 'We're still playing it' she said.

'In the absence of orders, go find something and kill it' Stephen quoted. 'Irwin Rommel said that' he explained. 'I was leafing through one of the books Illyria has been reading' he told Emily, who had given him a look.

Angel nodded. It was a good line he'd have to remember it. 'We find them and then we kill them' he stated flatly. 'So let's figure out how to find them' he said.

**Summers Residence – Sunnydale – May 2003**

'Is it strictly necessary for you to watch me doing this?' Wesley snapped, turning on Spike and Xander. It was the expressions on their faces that was bothering him.

'Nothing good on the telly' Spike replied, continuing to watch Wesley rub the paste into Illyria's wounds. 'At least not anything that's not pay per view like this should be' he added. 'Like 'em well oiled and greasy do you?' he asked, forcing Xander to stick his hand over his mouth to stop himself laughing. It was a release after the stress of the evening and kept their minds off Buffy upstairs, it would also have been bloody hilarious to watch Wesley squirm at any other time for that matter Spike thought.

'What is wrong?' Illyria asked as Wesley tried to ignore them and applied a bandage over the area he had just rubbed the paste into.

Wesley sighed, he tried to tell it straight with Illyria, it was just easier and she preferred it which is why she liked Anya. 'They are mocking us' he explained. 'More specifically me' he continued. 'They are making crude references to a sexual connotation to this activity.'

'My injuries?' Illyria asked. 'Do they think I enjoy pain? I have heard of this strange human compulsion that some have but I merely enjoy inflicting it…'

'You're in trouble Wes' Xander interjected quickly, making Spike fight not to laugh this time.

'…and not in a sexual way' Illyria continued, ignoring him completely.

'It's the application of the paste that they are referring to not your injuries' Wesley explained. 'I'm sure that both of them have frequented several establishments where women wrestle in mud for the prurient delight of drunken morons' he said.

Illyria frowned. 'You are a truly strange species' she observed. 'No matter how much I learn, and how much time I spend in intercourse with your kind I am still constantly reminded by how truly alien you are' she said. 'And why are you making that noise?' she asked Xander who was now sniggering, as was Spike though less obviously.

'She means conversation you twits' Wesley told them. 'What are you Beavis and Butthead?' he asked with a groan. 'Either grow up or piss off' he told them sternly and went back to work on Illyria's injuries. 'If you want to make yourself useful Spike you could tell those ghouls you know to clean up the mess Xander and I made' he suggested.

'Already done mate' Spike told him. 'Phoned them half an hour ago, they're even going to collect up the cartridge casings you left behind as a favour' he continued. 'All we have to do is give them a heads up on every mass demon slaughter and stop the slayers dropping in on them. As for me pissing off I'm injured so I'm going to stay sitting right here until I'm less worried about my internal organs falling out the hole in the middle of my chest' he said.

'I cannot understand how they could eat Bringer Flesh' Illyria commented, regarding the ghouls. 'They taste terrible.'

Spike shrugged. 'They told me they can't get enough of it. Guess they like something with a bit of tang to it' he theorised.

'Hang on a second' Xander said. 'You _phoned_ them?' he asked, nonplussed.

Spike nodded. 'Cell Phones are the greatest leap forward in underworld communications technology since scrawling messages in blood on a crypt wall' he replied. 'Lots of them carried pagers a few years back but they just weren't as convenient.'

Xander scratched his nose. 'I really wonder what a normal life would be like sometimes' he said wistfully. 'The kind where you don't have conversations like this while you watch an ancient God get lubricated.'

'Let's face it mate' Spike told him. 'You'd find it bloody boring now.'

'I could give it a try for a while' Xander replied. 'See how it works out. I've got marketable skills, work experience, my own hammer...'

Wesley chuckled. 'I wonder about retiring sometimes' he said.

'You go right ahead' Spike told him. 'You and Blue could settle down in a nice Fortress of Doom in the country' he deadpanned.

'I have tolerated it so far but is it necessary to call me that' Illyria responded. 'Blue is the pigment of some of my hair and skin, not my name or title.'

'Term of endearment Love' Spike told her. 'I call Willow "Red" because of her hair colour' he pointed out. 'And I call Angel "Wanker"… because he is one.'

Illyria thought about it. 'Couldn't you use the abbreviation Ria I have adopted for my more human form?' she asked.

'Ain't going to happen sorry Love' Spike apologised. 'To me you'll be Blue till the day I die, which is due to be any day now so you can relax. Why didn't you go for Lyria anyhow? It's more… lyrical' he asked with a smile.

'I liked Ria' the God-King replied.

'Fond of the Bird myself' Spike told her with a friendly tone. 'You missed a spot' he told Wesley pointing at her to indicate the area.

Ilyria turned to Xander. 'I have need of a weapon to fight Glory with' she said. 'I have an idea but will likely need your assistance with it.'

'Anything you need from me to help kick her ass you've got' Xander replied earnestly.

'Good' she replied. 'You may find tomorrow a long day' she advised.


	24. Chapter 24

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR**

**Summers Residence – Sunnydale – May 2003**

Willow was sat on the edge of Buffy's bed holding her hand. 'I tried a locator spell but Vail must have blocked me somehow' she told her. 'He's good' she said, 'well in the evil sense of the word' she added, 'I put a lot of juice into the spell and it would have burned through anything he put up if he didn't have plenty of power himself.'

'I watched him put Illyria on her knees' Buffy replied, shifting uncomfortably in the bed, she was still very sore from her beating at the hands of Glory. 'The last time I saw firepower like that…' she continued, then paused awkwardly.

'Was when I went off rails' Willow interrupted, looking away with a mildly insecure expression on her face.

Buffy squeezed her friends' hand. 'It's alright Will' she reassured her. 'You're not that person anymore, even with the magicks.'

Willow took a breath. 'Buffy the activation spell with the scythe took enormous power but there wasn't violence or hostility there to cloud the issue' she responded. 'It's just not the same' she continued. 'If I have to fight Vail it'll tap raw emotions not just power, I'm human, hurt me, or hurt my friends and I get angry, the difference is I won't start throwing punches, I'll be throwing… less tangible things' she said. 'It's all about power and control' she said, with a slight smile as she remembered Xanders' Hammer analogy, 'I might need to sacrifice some control to get the power to beat him' she warned.

The slayer sighed. 'Willow nobody is going to make you do anything you don't want to do' she let her know.

Willow looked Buffy in the eyes. 'Glory nearly killed you' she said. 'She'll kill any one of us, she'll kill _Dawn_' she said for emphasis. 'We need Illyria to bring her down and to do that we need Vail off her back' she pointed out. 'I'm the only one who can go up against a Mage that powerful, Giles has some ability even without the borrowed power and I've been sensing things off Wesley since he came back that make me think he's still developing a lot of innate potential, but neither of them would stand a chance' she said bluntly. 'I don't want to do it' she said, 'It's my _duty_ to do it' Willow told Buffy with a clear unwavering voice.

'I'd pull you in for a hug but it would hurt' Buffy told her with a smile. 'But you didn't go far enough with the healing spell' she joked.

'Hey I knitted all those broken bones back together what more do you want?' she asked. 'I had to try and fix all those other busted up Slayers too you know, I'm not freaking Gandalf despite the occasional hair colour. You're a slayer you can heal the bruises just fine on your own.'

'You could have put my tooth back' Buffy said, indicating the gap in her lower front teeth. 'I look like a hockey player' she complained.

Willow rolled her eyes. 'Well if you'd remembered to keep it I might have been able too' she replied. 'What do you want me to do? Find another girl and knock one of hers out to put back in your jaw?' she asked sardonically.

Buffy thought about that one. 'I suppose if we did that to one of the newbies it would make me look kinda like an evil tyrant' she said sadly. 'But if you _do_ go all black haired, veiny and evil yourself could you maybe remember to go with that plan?' she requested in jest.

'Go to a dentist' Willow told her, shaking her head.

Buffy grimaced. 'I don't want to deal with anyone _that_ evil' she replied.

**Motel - Five Miles Southeast of Sunnydale – May 2003**

Glory could have kicked open the door easily enough but it was less harsh on her accommodation to get the mercenary standing outside to unlock it now that Ben was gone. She yelled at him to open the damn door and he did with alacrity, saluted her and followed the HellGod to Vail's room where the next mercenary on guard outside the warlocks room opened it for her.

'You're looking better I see' Vail greeted her without a trace of concern for her appearance.

'I look like I fell out of an airliner and landed on my face' Glory replied.

Vail nodded. 'As I said you _do_ look better' he said sarcastically. 'The description I would have used right after your clash with the Old One would have been the same except for you would have fallen from the plane into a swimming pool full of broken glass' he told her. 'You just don't resemble raw hamburger quite as much now.'

Glory wanted to rip him into little chunks but she had enough sense not to. 'What happened to the slayers?' she asked.

Vail snorted. 'If I told you that the First _didn't_ go through with its part of the plan would you be surprised?' he asked rhetorically.

'That rotten, ancient, backstabbing, lying, incorporeal prick' Glory seethed. 'What did it do?' she asked.

Vail took a seat, he was hooked up to his stand holding the part medical, part magical elixirs that fed into his veins. 'The Portal that the Senior partners forced past the seal bought some three hundred or so Turok-Han out' he said. 'The First sent perhaps sixty into action and kept the rest back. The slayers slaughtered them and I don't believe they lost a single one of their own.'

Glory growled. 'He could have at least sent half of them, made it _look_ like he was trying' she said.

Vail shrugged. 'The First expects Wolfram and Hart to dissolve the alliance as soon as it's in our interests' he said. 'We aren't going to let him open the seal any more than the slayers would, so the only Turok-Han he'll have available out here are the ones we gave him. He probably thought he'd sent enough to do some damage but he underestimated his foe as much as you did yours. He was counting on that diversionary attack on the Guardians Temple to split the slayer forces but when it didn't his gamble on only sending a handful of his best into action came up short.'

The HellGod crossed her arms and began tapping her foot in annoyance. 'What happened with the diversion?'

'Shot to pieces by two ordinary humans with automatic weapons' Vail replied. 'Absolute waste of resources for zero benefit' he said. 'If it had been a Wolfram and Hart operation the shareholders would have had the project leader immolated.'

'So basically you're saying we got royally shafted on all counts?' Glory said. 'Well that's just peachy' she muttered. 'Shot to pieces? Well looks like he decided to go ahead literally with that crack I made about him taking a knife to a gunfight back in LA' she said. 'If he actually had a neck I could wring I'd…'

'Mea culpa' the First said, flashing into view, taking the form of Caleb again. 'I threw the dice and forgot to rig them' he continued, with Glory glaring at him seething with rage, she hadn't done any better in reality but at least she tried to do what she said she would, the First hadn't even done that.

Vail narrowed his eyes at both of them. 'The only people actually doing their jobs in this have been the forces of the Wolf, Ram and Hart' he stated flatly. 'If both of you don't put your ego's away and start treating the enemy with some respect we are going to get our asses handed to us next time as well' he said. 'We've already thrown away the element of surprise and not only have we not caused any damage, they're battle-hardened and out for our blood.'

'I guess we need a plan B' the First said. 'We could always open the seal…' he began then clammed up seeing the expressions on the faces of both Glory and Vail. 'Only saying' the First added.

Vail meshed his spindly fingers in front of him on his lap. 'I am going to request more support in terms of warrior demons and we'll solve this by brute force' he said. 'It lack finesse but we'll just overwhelm them in a frontal attack' he said. 'A frontal attack I expect to see a _large_ number of Turok-Han leading' he said.

'What about Illyria?' the First asked.

'I need a weapon' Glory told them. 'Something sharp and unbreakable' she said.

Vail frowned. 'I'll check with the Senior Partners but it might take a couple of days to rustle up something "unbreakable".'

'Anything _remotely_ breakable will… break' Glory pointed out. 'I'll be swinging it really hard against something really tough and I don't want to be left holding a broken sword or something when Old, Blue and Bitchy starts trying to ruin my good looks again' she stated seriously.

The First gave her a disparaging look. 'You might have thought about that _before_ you fought Illyria the first time' he observed.

Glory snarled. 'And like you did so well in _your_ part of the operation' she replied dismissively. 'I guess you really are the _First_ Evil' she continued, 'because you sure don't seem to have evolved very much compared to the rest of us' she declared.

Vail looked at her with a new respect. He wished _he'd_ thought up that line, maybe there was hope for the HellGod after all he wondered.

**Crawford Street Mansion – Sunnydale – May 2003**

'Willow tried the locator spell twice but no go' Giles reported. 'I think the idea of taking the war back to them just isn't feasible given that we don't know where they actually are' he said.

Faith scratched her arm, it had been badly bruised by a Turok-Han and now her slayer healing was at work it itched like crazy. 'This Vail guy must be seriously hard-core to block Red, I've seen her in action' she observed.

'I've _felt_ her in action' Giles declared, 'and I agree. Cyvus Vail is likely a severe threat' he surmised.

'When they go toe-to-toe Willow will own him' Kennedy stated confidently.

'Just because she owns _you_ doesn't mean that's universally applicable' Faith retorted with a grin.

Kennedy threw her a look. 'Willow doesn't own me' she said.

'You two really should be careful what you say in bed because some of the things you've been overheard saying to each other when you get… carried away… just don't bare that out' Faith replied with a smirk. 'I've already had a couple of requests from girls living over at Buffy's to move in over here because you're so damn loud' she announced.

Kennedy blushed but tried hard to fight it. She wasn't at all embarrassed by her relationship with Willow but she didn't like to think people could overhear them.

'Don't sweat it kid' Faith told her. 'I'm only jealous you're getting some and I ain't' she said, turning back to Giles who gave her a look of concern. 'No I'm not going to suggest anything I wasn't in prison _that_ long' she told the watcher with a wink.

Andrew had been pouring over the map spread out across a large table in the centre of the room. 'We could set up a search pattern and go looking for them' he said. 'It might take a few days but…'

'Found them' Gunn declared, walking in. 'Motel a few miles from here, Connor is keeping an eye on them, he's good at the not being seen.'

Everyone turned to look at him and Fred who was half a step behind. 'You found them?' Giles said. 'How did you do that?' he wanted to know.

Gunn looked around smugly. 'You do realise we're like a Detective Agency right?' he asked. 'This is what we do for a living. We "detect".'

Fred laughed. 'Illyria mentioned that they were using one of their Black Hummer four-wheel-drives and those things just drink gas, so we started about thirty miles down the coast on the main route from LA and asked at Gas Stations until we got a result' she explained.

'You don't see as many of those things here as you do back in LA' Gunn added. 'And people notice them there too, they're hard to miss' he explained. 'Once we found out where they'd been buying gas we asked around nearby and a bartender told us about a few military looking guys that were staying at a motel. We scouted the place out, well Connor did, and we came out trumps.'

'And apparently the rest of us are idiots' Giles said, groaning that _he_ didn't think of that.

'Connor said to tell you that you rely on magic too much' Fred said. 'Sometimes you need to think _inside_ the box like normal people' she joked.

'Then let's get out there' Kennedy said. 'I'll get the girls' she said, reaching for a sword.

'Get a grip' Faith told her. 'We go in we go in prepared' she said. 'Question is day or night?'

'Daytime we don't get Angel or Spike, but we don't know if they've got Turok-Han in there or if so how many' Giles said. 'I think just after dawn would be best so we get the maximum daylight hours to work with. We'll have to clear it with Buffy though' he reminded them.

Faith looked at her watch. 'Well if we're going to attack at dawn like an old western we need to sort out who we're taking and those that are get a few hours sleep so they're fresh and ready to go' she said. 'I'll go talk to Buffy and Willow and can somebody track down Illyria, this is going to be her party.'

'I'll do that' Gunn said. 'I know where she is she asked me to pick her up there later anyhow' he told her. 'Angel's not going to like being left out though.'

'Someone has to hold the fort' Faith replied.

'If some of us are holding the fort, and the rest are attacking at dawn are we supposed to be the Cavalry or the Indians?' Gunn asked. 'I'm just asking because Denzel looked bitchin in a blue uniform in the film Glory and I could pull that off easy.'

'Yeah but the Glory we're concerned with is looking at a bitch-slapping from Blue' Faith replied. 'And you'd just be confusing things.'

**Motel - Five Miles Southeast of Sunnydale – May 2003**

Willow picked up on a detection spell as they approached and countered it. The spell had been designed to warn Vail of approaching humans in case the Slayers came looking. Unfortunately it was just a bit too specific as Connor wasn't quite human enough to have been picked up on his radar.

The motel was bordered on two sides by woodland with about a hundred yards of clearance between the edge of the treeline and the nearest building. Xander moved in first, he found he had decent field craft skills as well as his M16-stripping and rocket-launcher stealing abilities and he quietly made his way through the trees towards Connor who would have been tricky to find if Xander hadn't been carrying his trusty rifle with an Infra Red sight on top. The teenagers location practically glowed in infra-red, he actually seemed to run slightly hotter if anything than a normal human, the complete reverse of his vampire parentage.

Xander knelt down beside Connor who was watching the motel through a small set of binoculars enhancing his already superior vision. 'What they got?' he asked in a whisper.

'I counted six of the guys in black that Wolfram Hart uses, they all carry automatic weapons' Connor replied. 'But only two are awake and they're watching TV in the Motel Office, they patrol the perimeter every half hour or so taking turns.'

'Glory and Vail?' Xander asked.

'The two rooms there and there' Connor told him, pointing. 'I watched the soldier guys drag a girl into Glory's room before night fell and they carried her back out looking half dead a few minutes later and drove her away.'

Xander spat on the ground. 'That was her dinner' he said. 'She eats the energy out of your brain' he explained. 'Like a zombie with good table manners' he said. 'I'll watch from here you head back 500 yards that way and tell them everything you know' he told Connor. 'You might run into Wesley he's going to set up some fire support' he advised.

'Fire support?' Connor asked.

'We've got grenade launchers' Xander said. 'Might as well fire grenades out of them sometimes' he replied with a vicious grin.

Just before dawn rose the senior of the two Wolfram and Hart mercenaries on the nightshift yawned and went off on his patrol. It was a total waste of time but he was professional enough not to completely ignore his job. He left his colleague watching the end of a god-awful B-Movie in what had been the Motel Managers office out front before the firm hired out the whole place.

It wasn't a bad job this one, the mercenary thought, certainly less messy so far that the normal wet-work they got involved in. They were getting a bonus, Glory was good to look at, but not of course touch, and with the whole motel they each got their own room.

The mercenary was counting his blessings when a blunt object impacted on the back of his skull and he keeled over unconscious as Connor snuck up on him and smacked him on the head with a club, not quite hard enough to smash his skull but he would have concussion and the mother of all headaches when he woke up. Assuming they let him wake up, they weren't entirely agreed on that point.

Wesley was a lot more direct. After getting a signal from Connor he simply walked into the Managers Office and shot the other mercenary in the back of the head with a silenced pistol as he sat watching the film, his back to the door eating a bag of chips. The thing that really disturbed him on a certain level was that he actually managed to notice what the film was the guy was watching more than he seemed to register any emotion at blowing his brains over the television screen. Sometimes Wesley even surprised himself on how far he'd fallen.

'You're on' he said into his radio and trotted back to his position just by the treeline just before the main event was due to start.

Connor made his way around the motel and pulled a grenade from his gear satchel. It was a stun grenade, flash and bang not flame and fury like the phosphorus incendiary ones he'd used against the Turok-Han, and he pulled the pin just as a group of slayers emerged from the darkness to do likewise.

The three slayers and Connor simply pitched the grenades through the windows of the four remaining mercenaries and ran like hell.

It was not the recommended way to be woken up, especially when before their ears stopped ringing and the mercenaries stumbled out of bed and grabbed boots and weapons, someone blew up the two Hummers parked outside with a grenade launcher.

It was Gunn firing the launcher, he'd called heads when he and Wes flipped a coin for it.

The first merc that stumbled outside got shot at as did the next and they threw themselves back inside their rooms. Xander was having fun with his M16A2 but he did note that the crappy Russian infra-red gunsight flared out if he pointed it too close to the burning four wheel drives. Oh well the sun was coming up now and he wouldn't need it he realised.

'You are totally outnumbered and outgunned by people who don't give a shit if you live or die' a female voice bellowed. 'Throw out your arms and surrender, we aren't after you, we want the Warlock and the Blond Hellbitch' it declared.

'Fuck you' one of the mercs yelled back and stuck his MP5 sub machinegun out of his door, firing a burst randomly.

The grenade launcher fired again and blew his motel room to bits. As a counter-argument it was very strident.

'Last chance' the voice shouted again. 'We're only interested in saving the ammunition, don't go thinking we're screwing around here' it assured them. 'Just throw out your guns and get walking to town and we'll leave you be' it said.

One of the mercenaries complied and threw his weapons out as did his compatriots soon after. They were only the hired help, it wasn't worth dying for.

Glory stepped outside and watched the mercenaries walking away with their hands up. 'After this is over I'll kill you myself' she vowed. 'Alright you've got me come and take me' she yelled defiantly. 'Vail you in this?' she asked.

'I am here HellGod' the warlock replied, he was unconnected to his usual life-support, using his magic to sustain him instead. 'I have cast wards and protection spells that will repel their weapons' he told her, stepping out from his own room. 'There is power nearby' he said. 'The witch is coming' he added.

'Not just the witch' Illyria declared, stepping out to face them.

Wesley looked at her standing in the courtyard. She looked bloody magnificent and he'd also just found out why Gunn had been complaining about the damage that had been done to the shocks on his pickup. 'Xander' he said into his radio. 'What the hell is Illyria carrying?' he asked.

'_It's a sword_' Xander replied on his headset.

'No its not' Wesley responded. 'It looks like a bloody girder' he declared.

'_Okay. So technically we took an A992 Grade I-Beam, cut it up and sharpened it with an angle-grinder_' Xander admitted. '_She wanted something a bit heftier_' he explained.

'It's got to be a yard longer than she is tall' Wesley pointed out. 'The thing must weigh over half a ton' he said, watching Illyria handle it like a two-handed broadsword as she squared off with Glory.

'_Hey you should have seen the expression on the Guardian when we asked her to cast those weapon enchanting spells on it_' Xander replied, laughing.

Glory looked at Illyria and her "sword". 'I'm not happy over here' she told Vail as seriously as she could.

Vail extended a hand and generated a fireball ready to throw. 'If you think I'm any happier' he replied. 'You are badly mistaken' he continued, turning to face the young red-haired woman who was walking towards him. 'Introductions My Dear' he said. 'I'm Cyvus Vail' he said, and launched the fireball.

The ball of fire shot towards the woman who raised her hand and it exploded right in front of her against a translucent shield of energy she cast with a single word. She lowered her hand and looked right at him. 'Willow Rosenberg' she replied with a smile which shifted into a sneer as she rose from the ground and lightning began to flash around her. 'I think we have business' she told him.

Vail extended his arms and lightning flashed between his hands as he rose from the ground himself. She was right, they did have business and it was time to go to work.

Glory looked for a weapon and ripped a 12 foot high metal flagpole out of the ground in the centre of the courtyard to use as a staff. Illyria eyed it contemptuously and raised her sword in a mocking salute with a scornful expression on her face.

'_Has anyone bought popcorn_?' Xander asked. '_Because this is going to be good_.'


	25. Chapter 25

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE**

**Motel - Five Miles Southeast of Sunnydale – May 2003**

The smell of ozone in the air was getting stronger and stronger as energy crackled around and between them. Willow could feel the static discharge starting to make loose strands of her hair stand on end, that's one thing they don't tend to mention in the films, if you're going to get into a Mage-Fight hairspray is essential. It's hard to look menacing and all-powerful when you look like you're connected to a Van der Graaf Generator.

Willow threw a momentarily envious glance at Illyria, she'd kill to be able to look the part so effortlessly. The Old One just had a look, almost an aura about her that simply said "I am not to be trifled with" if you were going to be polite, or perhaps "don't fuck with me" might be closer to the mark.

Vail had an aura too, an actual one that Willow could almost reach out and touch with her mind. It screamed of power, ancient knowledge and arcane magic and to her considerable disquiet Willow recognised much of it from her own brushes with the darkness. Vail was far more focused though, he had centuries of practice and far more practical experience at this sort of thing, it was mildly concerning but at least she knew her own aura would be equally disconcerting to Vail, it was howling the cry of enormous energies into the ether. Willow lacked the subtleties of the warlocks finely honed skills but she more than made up for it by sheer wattage.

'If the warlock somehow defeats you' Illyria told Willow, although keeping her eyes directed firmly at Glory, 'I will avenge your death and scatter his ashes over your grave' she declared.

'You'd have to defeat me first' Glory pointed out.

'If you think that's remotely in question you are more deluded than I thought' Illyria retorted. 'I am only standing here waiting for you to make the first move in the hope you will accept my previous offer and submit to my dominion over you' she said.

Glory laughed. 'Would _you_ submit to me?' she asked, brandishing her improvised weapon above her head slowly rotating it, the four yard long steel pole doing a fair impression of a helicopter as the HellGod tried to look a more intimidating opponent.

'No, but I would not have yielded to Buffy as you did before either' Illyria replied. 'Your defeat is inevitable, it is a matter of willpower even more than strength and skill' the God-King told her. 'You are not prepared to die to win and I am' she declared, raising her own ludicrously oversized sword above her head in a two handed high-guard stance.

Vail inwardly grimaced. He wondered idly if the witch would be willing to swap gods before he decided to get the show on the road and began to charge an elemental fireball in his right hand, the ball of magically created flame growing in size and intensity as he mouthed the required incantation.

Less than ten yards away Willow responded in kind and began to generate a ball of energy in her own hand, this one a blue sphere of ball lightning, plasma rather than fire, brute force rather than long-practiced elemental fury. The two of them levitated just above the ground, their eyes locked on each other, seconds stretching to eternity as both charged their mystic weaponry to higher and higher levels. Willow felt her hand start to shake and it began to hurt but she was damned if she'd blink first, the more that was thrown into the first proper shot the better. These weren't the kind of wimpy magicks you'd throw at a human, this was the kind of firepower that Vail had used to knock Illyria to her knees.

The four combatants eyed each other, Illyria and Glory facing each other on the North side of the Courtyard and Willow and Vail to the South. Someone would have to make the first move, who was it going to be?

Illyria would have bet her blue-sapphire bracelet it would be Glory and she was proved right as the HellGod made a leap forward and sent the flagpole smashing towards the Old One who smoothly bought her sword to block, the pole ricocheting off with a metallic clang.

Willow had broken eye contact for a split second when Glory made her move and Vail took the opportunity to launch his fireball which streaked across the gap between them and vented its fury across the mystic shield she was projecting.

The witch was pushed back by the surprise impact but instantly gathered her wits and fired her own weapon back, the blue ball crackling through the air and sending tiny forks of lightning in all directions when it hit Vails' own protective barrier. It was actually stronger than his own but he was more ready to receive it and he stood his ground more successfully when it hit. 'So much for reputation' Vail sneered as he prepared another mystical projectile.

Sparks of a different kind were an issue between Glory and Illyria as the two demonic deities duelled with their oversized metal weapons. The God-King was content to parry away repeated attacks as Glory launched a flurry of attempted blows at her. What was really starting to annoy the HellGod already was the condescending smirk on Illyria's face as she countered the attacks. The idea she was being mocked was simply unacceptable and it drove Glory into putting greater and greater effort into her blows and she got faster and faster, already way beyond human reaction times, or even slayer, but still not yet using her full power.

Vail had followed up his first strike with a series of repeated blows, firing balls of supernatural flame one after the other as fast as he could generate them, trying to overwhelm the witch while she was still on the back foot from the first blow, pummelling her with relatively low-intensity fireballs while she continued to try both to maintain her shield and charge her own weapons. Lightning crackled intermittently between them as the fields of energy surrounding both grew and started to interfere with each other more and more.

Willow began to wonder if she'd bitten off more than she could chew as she deflected and absorbed fireball after fireball. It was one thing to know everything there was to know about boxing from reading a book but it was no substitute for actual sparring in the ring. Vail had done this before but Willow's only real experience was a few rounds with Giles and the borrowed power which he hadn't really known how to use to its full potential. She knew she could punch like Mike Tyson in mystical terms but she was being jabbed to distraction by a theoretically weaker opponent and she just wasn't getting the opportunity to retaliate properly. Vail didn't let up for a second he just kept up the pressure, looking for weaknesses, he had the advantage and he wasn't going to give it up.

The young red-haired witch was holding her ground, and she was still fighting back, but mentally she was already on the ropes, when it came right down to it Willow was basically too nice a person for this, she didn't want to kill anyone, she tried not to step on bugs for pities sake. It was like having a pacifist flying a helicopter gunship, the death and destruction are right there waiting to be unleashed but they just can't bring themselves to push the button.

Willow threw another ball of lightning then tried a more "conventional" fireball, neither having much effect, she tried using telekinesis to slam Vail into one of the motel buildings but he had that power himself and blocked her.

A little voice in the back of her mind stopped whispering at her from the darkness, as it always did, and started screaming instead. You are going to _die_, it said, stop your whimpering and let me out, it bellowed, let _me_ out if you can't do this yourself, it told her. Willow was too nice a person for this, _Dark_ Willow on the other hand…

A sudden massive blow of telekinetic force slammed into Vail and drove him back at least five yards, he had to stop throwing fireballs in order to stabilise himself and his psychic barriers. The blow had been brutal in its intensity, the power came from the girl but it felt different somehow and not just in its effectiveness, generating that blow would have been agonising for her, but in doing so she had hurt _him_ too and she had _enjoyed_ it. Her own pain from channelling that much force at once was irrelevant, she just wanted to cause him a bit of pain too. The warlock stared at her in surprise, it was as if someone had flicked a switch and swapped her personality for that of a serial killer.

'Okay you prick' Willow growled, hair and eyes shifting to jet black, 'let's go' she said, with a savage grin appearing on her face, her skin suddenly so pale her veins stood out beneath it.

The witch had let her alter-ego out to play, the little voice that was now in the background was the ordinary Willow and it was temporarily content to sit back and watch the fireworks while the Dark Side of the Rosenberg force put the hurt on a demon warlock. She hoped she could wrest the controls back afterwards, and if not she hoped Illyria would chop off her head instead.

Illyria smiled as she parried again, the witch had let her inner self out to play and the Old One could sense the change in power and the way it resonated. Vail was about to get a spanking, as Gunn might say, and it was high time to chastise Glory too.

The God-King had been keeping her distance but now she moved to the offensive and after parrying the metal pole one more time she moved forward to bring her oversized sword crashing down on the HellGod's head.

Glory bought the flagpole up defensively like a quarter-staff to attempt to block the blow but it was utterly futile. Illyria's "sword" was basically a thousand pound sharpened steel bar and with the God-Kings full force behind it, it buckled the pole instantly, most of the force continuing on so that, although Glory managed to move slightly to prevent the sword slamming into the top of her head, it still impacted with her shoulder with a jarring blow. It didn't cut her, but having an Old One batter you with a girder still stung a bit. Glory dropped the broken pole and looked at Illyria wincing slightly from the impact. 'I'm unarmed' she said, 'going to put that down and fight hand to hand?' she suggested hopefully. 'Don't you have some kind of warrior ethic or something?'

'If I had a gun powerful enough I'd just shoot you' Illyria replied flatly and started swinging her sword again.

Vail was being pushed back relentlessly using all his power to shield himself, there was nothing left over available to fire back. Willow had given up on both her own psychic barriers and levitation and was simply walking towards him laughing manically firing blue spheres of plasma from each hand, one after the other taking a leaf from Vail's own book. It had about as much finesse as being clubbed about the head incessantly with a hammer, all power no control, but it was getting the job done as the warlock tried to regain the initiative but couldn't manage it.

'You can't keep that up for long' Vail shouted at her. 'You'll burn up like a moth in the flame using that much energy' he said with certainty.

'I'll die for the win will you?' Willow yelled back, firing again and again. Battering his defences down by brute force, ball lightning impacting again and again on the barriers he was trying to maintain. 'Well you'll die when I win, that's for certain anyhow' she told him. 'I'm just deciding how much I'm going to make it hurt first?' she declared. 'If you're _lucky_ I'll just flay you alive and roll you in salt for a while then rip your head off' she said. 'Of course I'll probably be more creative' she added with a predatory grin.

Glory caught the sword as it arced towards her again, blocking the half ton of steel with her palms. Even for a HellGod that was damn painful, the shock of the impact vibrated down her arms and set her teeth on edge. She couldn't maintain her grip and Illyria pulled it free of her hands again. 'You're weakening' Illyria told her. 'No time for breakfast this morning?' she asked, readying another blow. She had already struck many and if Glory had thought getting punched and kicked by Illyria had been painful before, having the Old One clout her with an I-Beam was, needless to say, much worse. The damn thing must have been enchanted because otherwise it would have at least bent slightly by now, as it was it was as sturdy as ever.

Glory glared at her opponent. It was barely past dawn, she hadn't had the opportunity to feed and she knew that Ben would be making an appearance eventually and that as soon as he did the Old One would tear him apart and possibly eat the remains. The denizens of the Primordium were still remembered for their strange dietary habits, they could consume and digest almost anything though it was often done in symbolic victory rather than base hunger. 'Why don't you fight fair?' Glory asked, dodging the next sword strike by performing a shoulder roll to the side.

'Because I'm not a complete imbecile' Illyria replied, moving to have another go, swinging the huge weapon around with ease and this time connecting with Glory's side as she tried to get back up after the roll. The blow knocked the HellGod back to the ground hard where she had to roll again, this time flat on the ground, to avoid a downwards thrust aimed at her torso. 'I can keep doing this all day, or for eternity if required' Illyria told her. 'How long can you stand to be hit?' she asked rhetorically and began to lay into Glory again and again using the sword almost like a club, pounding her repeatedly around the body, causing her grounded opponent to have to shield herself as best she could from the blows.

Vail finally managed to get off another fireball which caught an unprotected Willow hard and crashed her to the ground. He tried to follow it up but he was getting weak and by the time he could generate another she was back on her feet and simply caught it in the air. While he watched she played with it between her hands then simply fired it off into the sky 'Nice toy but I prefer my own' she said and delivered a massive fireball several times as powerful straight into him. The heat coming off it was such that even through his, admittedly weakened, protective shield it still blackened his clothing.

Willow looked at her hands, she had burned her own skin doing it, oh well no biggy she thought and began to generate another as the smell of her own burnt flesh filled her nostrils. Vail was starting to get close to the edge by now, he couldn't see a way out of this and if she was willing to go this far he didn't want to know what was going to happen to him when his power gave out and she started to play with him. Vail could imagine very dark things, had done several of them to people himself, unfortunately he was also therefore able to imagine them being done to _him_ and that chilled him to the core. If this witch bitch was really one of the good guys then he was a goddamn duck, he thought, she was a weapon that could shift the balance of power completely if it was wielded by someone with the brains and ruthlessness to do it properly.

The witch fired another fireball, I'll really need plenty of moisturising cream after this, Willow thought, ignoring the pain from her increasing charred hands.

Back on her feet and wincing from injuries all over her body Glory became a blur and crashed into Illyria before the God-King could slow the passage of time, it didn't help too much though as she tried grappling by grabbing Illyria around the waist and got the hilt of the sword crashing into the back of her skull in response, both of them falling to the ground but Glory the more stunned of the pair.

Illyria used the hilt of the sword again and started punching it viciously into Glory's face before she could regain her wits. The HellGod had only just recovered from the onslaught of punches and headbutts from their last fight and the pain of having her face smashed in again was almost unbearable, it effected her vanity almost as much as her increasingly shaky sense of being truly a deity.

The Old One got back to her feet and after raining more sword blows to break the last of her resolve then threw it aside before bending down to pick Glory up by the hair, holding her up with her left hand while slapping her around the face with her right. It was humiliation as much as anything else, psychological victory over a foe being sweeter than merely physical when the foe was such as this.

Vail's barriers fell, he closed his eyes and waited for the next ball of energy that would end his life but instead he found himself grabbed mentally and sent hurtling back to bounce off a motel wall. Instead of landing in a heap he was slammed into it again and again by the witches telekinetic power, she was trying to break him up internally he knew, already physically frail he knew he wouldn't survive much of this kind of treatment then as if by a miracle it suddenly stopped.

A howling noise began as Vail was dropped to the ground. He opened his eyes and looked at the witch who was staring at a point just above him, he raised his gaze higher and could see a portal opening over his head. The Senior Partners had decided to intervene, in an instant he felt himself get pulled upwards and into the vortex, escaping the fight.

'Assholes' Willow screamed at the portal which closed up behind him. They must have really valued the son-of-a-bitch to expend the energy needed to do that she reasoned.

Hanging limply by her hair in Illyria's grasp Glory looked around as best she could. Bleeding heavily from numerous wounds the drips of her blood falling to the ground were frequent enough that they were starting to pool. The God-King smirked 'I don't think they're interested in saving _you_' she told Glory smugly.

'Too much power needed to take me through a portal like that anyhow' Glory coughed. 'They'd never manage it after what they did with the seal.'

Illyria frowned. 'What did they do with the seal?' she demanded to know.

Glory spat blood on the ground. 'Just finish it' she said.

Willow walked over. 'Kill the bitch' she said. 'Or I could do it' she offered.

The God-King ignored the witch and let Glory go, letting her fall to her knees. 'You _still_ don't _have_ to die' the God-King told her defeated adversary.

Glory looked up at Illyria and began to cry, her tears mixing with the blood on her face. Then with surprising suddenness the HellGod lowered her chin to look down at the ground and prostrated herself arms outstretched. 'Accept me into your service' she offered submissively, her blood and tears falling like rain.

'Oh you have got to be shitting me' the black haired witch responded coldly. 'Cut her fucking head off' she said, with an edge to her voice.

Illyria looked down at Glory then to Willow. 'But then how would I be God to a God once again?' she asked, looking down at her vanquished foe with a look of triumph. 'Oh yes' she added and punched out Willow, sending her spinning away unconscious. 'Can't have an evil witch running loose causing trouble' she said reasonably. 'You'll thank me for that when you wake up' she informed the witch.

'You can approach now' Illyria called out loudly to those that had been watching from a distance. 'I've got a new pet' she added happily, looking down at the distraught and broken HellGod again. 'I'll give you a day to heal before I let them use you as a punching-bag in training' she told Glory generously. 'Might be worth steering clear of Buffy though' she warned. 'She will likely need considerable persuading not to decapitate you on principle' she continued, 'her slayer scythe is more than adequate for the task' the God-King remarked.

'My life sucks' Glory said resignedly. It was an assertion hard to dismiss given the circumstances.

'Mine's going very well, even better than I planned' Illyria told her brightly, though somehow Glory was less than comforted by that.


	26. Chapter 26

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX**

**Highway - Sunnydale – May 2003**

Transition was unpleasant, disconcerting and occasionally bewildering, this time included the latter Ben immediately realised.

He found himself in the back of a moving vehicle sat between two young women, not one of the Wolfram and Hart Hummers he'd been finding himself in lately though. Well at least one of them was evidentially a young woman of the human variety, the other was entirely too blue and otherwise demony to necessarily qualify. The human woman was however the one that was the more immediate threat to his wellbeing however, she was the one holding a chrome and metallic red axe-like weapon to his throat.

'Jesus Illyria, that's even more freaky to watch than when you turn into Fred' the human woman stated. 'At least Fred's a girl' she added.

Ben groaned, he knew who Illyria was although he hadn't personally met the demon, his sister had though he knew, and like the last time it happened he found himself waking up in a dress with blood all down the front of it. 'You don't need the, whatever it is at my throatl' he said, 'I'm no threat to you' Ben told them. 'Is it fair to say Sis got her ass kicked again?' he asked rhetorically.

'And how' the woman told him. 'Illyria there cleaned her clock big time' she explained, though still not moving the weapon at his throat. 'This thing will kill _her_ so I'm betting it'll make short work of you' she continued, 'and if you think I won't kill you because you're human think again. For the record, and that's a _criminal_ record, I'm wanted for escaping prison where I was doing time for murder so don't go thinking I'm one of the regular good guys because I ain't' she warned him.

Ben sighed. 'You're one of the new slayers?' he asked. 'I'm Ben' he introduced himself. He knew some of the back story as to why Wolfram and Hart bought him and his sister back though he had been basically kept as a prisoner whenever he was in the driving seat.

'Not one of the newbies, been a slayer a few years already' the woman told him. 'I'm Faith' she let him know. 'Heard tell that last time you were in town there was some kind of spell that made people forget you and Glory were the same person but it don't seem to be there now' Faith commented. 'You know Xander Harris right, Buffy's friend? Well he's in the pickup following us' she told him. 'He said to say hi when you appeared and oh yeah, to let you know if you run he's going to shoot you' she added. 'If we're doing introductions the guy in the front seat there driving is Wes.'

'Wesley Wyndham-Pryce' the driver responded in a British accent. 'And Xander won't really shoot you' he said. '_I'll_ have shot you well before he gets the opportunity' he told Ben in a surprisingly upbeat tone. 'I've got a loaded automatic on the seat next to me and plenty of rags to mop your brains off my upholstery if needed.'

Ben took a breath and ignored the threats. 'Too many of Wolfram and Hart's people are human' Ben replied to Faith regarding the spell. 'They negated any magic that might have interfered with the job' he explained. 'Okay, so what's happening?' he asked, looking from one to the other.

'Taking you back to see Buffy' Faith told him.

Ben smiled. 'Wants to kill me herself?' he asked with a chuckle. 'Planning to throw the defeated enemy down before her for a summary execution?' he continued. 'Been killed before, would have preferred it to be permanent but it wasn't' he said.

'Buffy has no right to order your death, or that of your sister' the demon sat next to him, Illyria, stated. 'You will not be harmed' she told him, 'though I may have to beat your sister until she is fully trained.'

'Trained?' Ben repeated, looking confused.

'I defeated Glory and gave her the option of death or servitude' Illyria told him. 'She chose the latter therefore both she and you are now my property.'

'We're your _what_?' Ben said, aghast.

'Slaves' Illyria told him. 'You are my slave' she explained slowly. 'Although Glory is the more valuable of you in both abilities and a status symbol it is my belief that you are a qualified Doctor and that will be useful during the coming battles' the God-King said. 'Do not be concerned, I will not be a cruel master, or should I say mistress in this form, as long as you do the tasks set you I will not treat you badly' she told him.

'I'm not being a slave' Ben replied sternly. 'You can't enslave people' he insisted. 'It's illegal, there's such a thing as human rights.'

'I am not human and neither are you for much of the time' Illyria retorted. 'In any case I have accepted the submission of your sister and it's a package deal' she told him. 'You have absolutely no say in the matter.'

'But it's _wrong_' Ben said with a tremor in his voice, 'I'm a person not a possession' he declared.

Illyria looked at him dispassionately. 'Technically you're more like a possessed person' she replied deadpan.

Faith laughed. 'Not only meaner than your Sis she's funnier too' she told Ben. 'I wanted to kill Glory by the way but Blue talked me out of it.'

'It would have been more merciful' Ben replied. 'For both of us' he added sadly.

'Yeah that's pretty much how she talked me out of it' Faith told him, nodding her agreement.

'I don't _want_ to be a slave' Ben protested, understandably but whiney in his tone.

'You'll find that's usually the case' Wesley noted. 'Unfortunately your sisters options were limited' he said. 'Perhaps you could write something arguing your position? Take the issue to the people with a pamphlet?' he suggested with amusement. 'I've got a couple of great opening lines for you "HellGods are spawned free yet everywhere they are in chains", or maybe "Arch-Demons of all realms unite, you have nothing to lose but your chains". You certainly need to go with a chainy theme in any case, rouse sympathy' he advised.

'I'm a slave in a dress' Ben said dejectedly. 'My life sucks.'

Illyria looked at him. 'There is a definite familial resemblance with his sister' she observed to Faith.

**Summers Residence – Sunnydale – May 2003**

'And it's not dead why?' Giles practically spat, pointing at Ben who was eyeing him nervously. 'Have you seen what it did to Buffy?' he continued, seething with rage as he paced back and forth in Buffy's living room.

'That was my sister' Ben pointed out. At least he was wearing trousers and a T-Shirt now, Wesley had a change of clothes with him in his SUV, he was organised that way, and had loaned the clothes to him. 'Are you going to kill me again?' he asked the watcher.

Giles narrowed his eyes. 'If it had worked out more permanently last time we wouldn't be in this situation' he replied coldly. 'Perhaps we need to find a more certain means of removing you from this world?' he said.

'Portal him, I mean her, to Quartoth' Connor suggested, 'that place is a bitch to get back from' he continued, 'I know.'

'If you could get back, Glory could' Wesley noted. 'We'd just be postponing her return.'

'Ben and Glory are my property' Illyria declared haughtily. 'None of you have any rights over them' she said.

Wesley sighed. 'It's not like you can keep them chained in a closet, that only works with ordinary people' he said then looked around at the various shocked and/or disapproving expressions directed his way. 'There was absolutely nothing kinky about the girl I used to keep chained in a closet' he claimed defensively, 'it was only psychological torture, nothing weird' he told them.

'What chains could hold Glory anyway?' Faith queried.

'A set made the same way as the scythe perhaps?' Illyria suggested. 'I was going to talk to the Guardian regarding that' she said. 'In any case if Glory works out badly as a slave I already know of a method of containment that avoids killing her and facing the possibility of another resurrection' she announced.

'You do?' Giles asked her.

Illyria nodded. 'She could be imprisoned in the Deeper Well where the Old One's are kept' she replied. 'It held me for countless millennia and could do likewise for her' she explained. 'It would however be a last resort, it would be far better if she could be utilised more constructively' she opined.

'Community Service rather than prison?' Faith responded with a smile. 'We could put her in an Orange Jumpsuit, maybe with leg irons.'

'You'll have me picking cotton next' Ben responded bitterly. 'In case everyone is forgetting anything you do to Glory you do to Ben too' he pointed out. 'Why should _I_ be punished? I didn't ask for any of this, I'm supposed to be a prison for Glory, not in prison _with_ Glory' he complained.

'Well I guess that's just tough' Faith replied. 'Live with it' she told him unsympathetically.

'Assholes' Ben muttered than yelped when Illyria batted him gently around the head, clipping his ear.

'Watch your language' Illyria told him, 'or I may have to reassess my policy of only using physical punishment on your sister' she warned.

'You're not going to let her hit me are you?' Ben asked Faith.

Faith shrugged. 'The only way I've got to stop her is with this' she said, holding up the scythe, 'and there's two problems with that' she told him, 'the first is that I don't _want_ to kill her and the second is I'm not dumb enough to try' she continued, 'but as a favour to me could you not do that again?' she asked Illyria.

The God-King frowned. 'As long as I am not heavily provoked' she agreed, half-heartedly.

'There you go' Faith addressed Ben, 'don't piss off the almighty Demon God and you won't get bitchslapped okay?' she told him.

Ben looked downwards at the floor, the sheer unfairness of it all was so depressing. It wasn't like he was a bad person himself, he thought,but then again wasn't he in a similar situation to someone with multiple personality disorder where the 'nice' personality found itself imprisoned in a padded cell too because society couldn't let their psychotic alter-ego loose. It really _wasn't_ fair but that didn't necessarily make it wrong either. Regardless it still sucked big-time if you were the innocent party locked in the padded cell however.

'Xander told me but I didn't believe it' a voice declared from the doorway. Everyone turned to see Buffy being helped to stand by Dawn, the younger Summers sibling looking fearful, as was of course understandable. Buffy still looked a mess and hurt pretty much all over from being beaten to a pulp by Glory so recently, seeing her assailants "brother" standing before her was certainly a shock. 'Weren't you going to kill _that_?' she asked Illyria, indicating Ben with a shaking arm, index finger outstretched. It was the arm Glory had broken and which still hadn't fully healed. Spike was beside her now, still wearing a bandage around his chest under his shirt, the looks he was directed at Ben were positively homicidal but he kept quiet, this was Buffy's business more than his.

'Glory surrendered to me' Illyria replied. 'I have taken the Hellgod into my service' she said with definite smugness. 'It has been too long since I took a captive into servitude of such status' the God-King told her. 'I am very pleased' she told the slayer with a smile.

'Well I'm not' Buffy retorted. 'Glory is an evil bitch and should be hung from a noose not kept on a leash' she declared.

'I am your ally not one of your troops who is bound to your command' Illyria noted, 'and Glory is _my_ captive not yours' she said. 'She will not pose a threat to you any longer, she is far too scared of what I would do to her if she did' the God-King claimed. 'Her death would be so painful and drawn out both the suffering and the timescale involved would be beyond your comprehension' she told Buffy. 'A few centuries in a Hell-Dimension would be considered a pleasant vacation by comparison.'

'Glory wants…' Buffy began then stopped herself mentioning her sister but she turned to her anyway, she loved Dawn dearly. She didn't really know what Illyria might do if she realised that a source of power like the key was available but she couldn't take the risk.

Illyria looked at Buffy and threw her a disarming smile. 'Glory wants the Key' she said, indicating Dawn. 'I know what she is, even if I had not been told the whole story I could still tell she is not really human. Dawn simply doesn't _look_right' she told everyone.

Buffy took a sharp inhalation of breath and Dawn's jaw dropped. 'I don't look right?' Dawn asked.

'My senses are very different from yours' Illyria replied. 'You don't _feel_ right either' she added. 'If I was interested in using your power again I would have done so again already' she said.

'Again?' Buffy repeated in horror.

'How do you think I got here?' Illyria asked rhetorically. 'I used part of the power of the key to open a time-space portal' she said.

Everyone stared at Illyria in horror. Dawn shrank back. 'You killed me?' she asked in shock.

'I used _part_ of your power' Illyria replied, shaking her head. 'I am not a clumsy hack like Glory, who sought to return home by opening all the dimensions together, I have far more control of such things' the God-King told them. 'You were alive afterwards, though you were pale I'll admit, as the easiest way to get the power was to drain some of your blood' she said. 'It was either that or cut off an arm and you objected to that alternative' Illyria told her with a grin. 'That last part was a joke' she explained before going on. 'You agreed to the procedure and Buffy was stood over me with the scythe if I broke my word.'

'I was there?' Buffy asked uncomprehendingly 'I _let_ you siphon my sister?' she asked doubtfully.

Illyria nodded. 'It took me many months to persuade you. You never really trusted me' she said. 'In fact you tried to kill me when we first met' she told Buffy, 'I had to hold you down before you would hear me out.'

'Let's be fair' Faith said. 'You _do_ look pretty scythe-worthy' she told Illyria.

Dawn stared at Illyria. 'Why would I let you do that?' she wanted to know.

'You saw it as a debt of honour' Illyria replied. 'I slew many of your enemies and saved many slayer lives, including Buffy's own' she said. 'At first I attempted to enact revenge on the Wolf, Ram and Hart alone but that was futile, I then sought to have more of my powers restored and succeeded in that but even then I could not beat them' she said. 'Finally I allied myself with your faction and fought for the slayer cause for some time before I realised it was _all_ futile' she told them. 'The opening moves of the game had been caried out too poorly and your enemies had easily adjusted to the existance of the new slayers, you still fought in the old ways and I could not make you do otherwise.'

'So you decided to restart the game from scratch?' Wesley interjected. 'You bloody cheated' he realised.

'The other side cheat all the time, they care little for causality' Illyria replied, I just cheated better' she said, 'On a grander scale' she told them. 'I found a point in the timeline where I could have the biggest impact while going back the smallest number of years and here I am, rewriting both the rules and the timeline.'

'Why not go back further?' Giles asked. 'Make an even bigger impact?'

'Going back further would have meant taking more of Dawn's power endangering her life and would in any case have endangered _my_ existence too' Illyria responded. 'This shell cannot contain a fraction of the power of either the key, or that of my original form, despite the upgrade I obtained to its stability' she explained. 'If I pushed further back in time the effects could have been catastrophic.'

'Define catastrophic' Giles queried.

'Measured in megatons' Illyria replied forthrightly.

'That would fit _my_ definition' Giles responded reasonably.

'How did you "upgrade" the shell?' Wesley asked with interest, the technical details of Illyria's form interested him immensely.

'I knew how Spike regained his soul' Illyria replied. 'It, the demon concerned, could not restore my full glory but it could make me marginally less of a shadow of what I once was and enable me to use my powers sparingly without coming apart' she told him.

Spike spoke up for the first time. 'You went through the Demon Trials in Africa?' he asked in wonderment. 'How did you find them? Painful?'

Illyria looked thoughtful. 'Although at that time I was weaker than now I found them less than taxing for the most part' she said. 'Except the bugs' she admitted.

'Yeah' Spike nodded. 'I hated those little bastards' he told her sympathetically.

The God-King crossed her arms. 'They were highly nutritious but I could only eat so many before I got indigestion' she said, 'and they tickled when they tried to burrow into my flesh' she added, feeling her skin starting to itch as she remembered it.

Spike just looked at her nonplussed.

'Why are you telling us all this _now_?' Buffy asked.

'The timeline is already bent out of shape so the dangers of me telling you of the original are lessening and I need to develop your trust of me, there may be difficulties in our relations because of Glory' Illyria replied. 'You will want her gone but I plan to keep her.'

'As a living trophy?' Buffy asked. 'A very _dangerous_ living trophy?'

'More like a pet' the God-King replied. 'But a useful working pet nonetheless' she told her. 'There are many tasks she could be put to. Heavy lifting, helping in training as a living punching-bag for the slayers or perhaps you would like her to clean your home?' she offered.

'Glory as a domestic servant?' Wesley said amusedly. 'The humiliation to a deity would probably be worse than death' he opined.

'Not worse than _my_ version of her death' Illyria noted. 'She will do as she is told.'

Ben looked around the room. 'Well what about me?' he asked.

Spike turned to him. 'Don't worry you won't be waking up in a French Maids Outfit no matter how funny it would look' he said. 'It would ruin the fantasy' he told him then looked at Buffy who was glaring at him. 'Hey they were thinking it too' he said accusingly, indicating Wesley and Giles.

The two watchers looked at each other. 'I'm taking the Fifth' Wesley told Giles who nodded in agreement.

Illyria looked at Wesley askance. 'Men' she said in an accusatory and aggrieved tone.

**Crawford Street Mansion – Sunnydale – May 2003**

They had gathered for a Council of War planning their next move. Andrew had laid out his map around a large table, actually a large plywood board up on some wooden blocks, and the senior players were gathered around it making plans.

Glory was back for now, taking over from Ben and was stood next to Illyria, receiving an assortment of looks from various people varying from hatred to wariness to intrigue. Earlier on Illyria had actually made Glory stand in the corner facing the wall for half an hour for talking back, it had been hilarious to watch as the all-powerful HellGod resignedly walked over like a punished child and stood there quietly, her back to the room, trying to ignore the giggling.

Dawn for one couldn't take her eyes off her. She was sat on a chair between Connor, who was reading a book, and Rona who was holding the scythe, drinking from a glass, and watching Glory like a hawk. If Dawn was ever near the HellGod she wanted the scythe there too and would stick close to it at all times. It was interesting that Glory made the same concerned looks at it that Illyria did, the thing apparently scared the crap out of anything powerful enough to sense it.

She took a final gulp from the glass in her hand then Dawn looked at it, a mischievous glint in her eye and with a smile spreading across her face as she had an idea. She caught Glory's eye who looked back at her with considerable resentment which then turned to fury when Dawn raised her glass towards her and shook it, the ice cubes inside rattling against the sides.

Illyria caught the HellGod's expression and looked between her and Dawn before turning back to the map. 'Do it' she ordered.

'You're joking' Glory replied in astonishment. 'It's one thing doing that kind of crap for you, at least you're a superior being, but one of _them_?' she asked.

'Get her another drink' Illyria ordered more sternly.

Glory grimaced. 'What did your last slave die of?' she asked sarcastically.

'Blunt force trauma' the God-King replied.

The HellGod flinched and somehow containing her rage she walked over to Dawn and took her glass. 'What were you drinking?' she asked in an infuriated tone.

'Coke' Dawn replied grinning, 'and put a slice of lemon in it' she instructed Glory.

'I'll have the same' Connor announced, looking up from his book. 'And bring me a packet of salted peanuts from the top cupboard' he added.

Glory took the glass and span around to head for the kitchen followed by laughter from all sides.

'Oh that was _so_ worth not killing her' Dawn said happily.


	27. Chapter 27

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN**

**Shadow Valley Vineyards – May 2003**

They pulled the hood off the mercenaries head and he was instantly dazzled by the lamp directed straight in his eyes. It was just like every clichéd interrogation scene from an unoriginal movie, he thought, he was tied to a chair in a dark room blinded by a spotlight. If it wasn't for the gag in his mouth he would have called them amateurs, as it was he inwardly smiled despite the headache.

'Well he's awake anyhow' a British accented voice noted. 'Pity, I was looking forward to throwing a bucket of water over him' it said.

The mercenary laughed behind the gag, like he thought they were just acting out things they'd seen in the movies. He just hoped they weren't going to start playing "Stuck in the middle with you" by Stealers Wheel, not that having his ear cut off would make him talk but he didn't want to have to get one of those Wolfram and Hart supplied replacement parts. He might end up with an evil ear that liked folk music or something.

A figure stepped into the light and knelt down in front of him looking the mercenary straight in the eyes. 'We could give you the easy way or hard way speech but I'll give Wolfram and Hart the credit for hiring half-way competent people so we both know it's going to be the hard way' the man said. The mercenary recognised him as being the vampire Angel, he'd read the company file on the guy, he was supposed to be a real bad-ass according to the lawyer types in charge but what did the desk-jockeys know about that stuff?

The vampire tied something around his thigh above the knee and pulled it tight, this was original anyway, the mercenary thought, as the vampire got up and took a pace back.

A metallic scraping noise off to the side caught the mercs' attention. It was really quiet, wherever they were, and the place seemed to echo magnifying any sounds. He turned his head to the side as another figure stepped into view. It was another man, this one he recognised as being that Limey that the boss used to screw, Wyndham-Pryce he recalled. He also recognised what he was holding in his hands and now knew what the scraping sound was as the British guy continued to slowly screw a silencer into place on an automatic pistol.

'This is to get your attention' the Brit told the mercenary and shot him in the kneecap. The tourniquet Angel had put on him would prevent him going into shock through blood loss but to say it hurt would be an understatement of the reality. The mercenary screamed in agony behind his gag.

'Take the pain you pussy' Angel told the mercenary after letting him writhe for a minute or so. 'Like the man said, that was just so we knew we had your undivided attention and so you knew we weren't full of shit when we told you what was going to happen' he explained.

The mercenary fought down his pain and glared at both of them chewing on his gag as the Brit moved in to whisper in his ear. 'If I was you I'd be worried about what the smell of that blood running down your leg is doing to my friend there' he said, nodding towards Angel. 'He might not usually eat people these days but vampires off the human blood are like alcoholics, they're never really free of it and if he did decide to take a couple of pints none of _us_ think you're worth saving' he said flatly. 'Right' he continued loudly, standing up. 'Let's take off that gag and get down to business' he said brightly, leaning down to untie the cloth and removing it from the mercenaries mouth.

'Fuck you' the mercenary swore.

'We considered something along those lines but nobody felt like _that_ kind of torture, and psychological takes too long, so it's mainly just going to be good old fashioned pain' Wyndham-Pryce responded in an all too matter-of-fact tone. 'Answer the questions and we won't break out the electrodes and broken glass' he promised.

The mercenary spat at him but instead of the punch he expected in return Wesley kicked him in the knee instead. The pain, which had subsided after the initial gunshot, surged again and the mercenary screamed out loud this time, his cry of agony echoing on forever.

'Christ Wesley' Angel said sharply but received a look from the Englishman that stopped him going further. It wasn't so much "Good Cop, Bad Cop" as "Bad Cop, Psycho Cop".

'Listen up' Wesley told the mercenary, once he stopped crying out, 'I've been exactly where you are now, except for the fact I was being tortured for fun not information' he declared. 'You _are_ going to talk' he stated. 'Everyone breaks in the end and I'm more than enough of an arsehole to keep going until you do' he said honestly. 'You're just the hired help, we've got no major beef with you' he assured the man. 'Spill everything you know and we'll let you limp back to LA with a story to tell about how much we had to do in order to make you talk.'

'Eat me' the mercenary hissed.

Wesley grinned. 'Well I was going to leave that option until last but if you insist' he said. 'Glory it's feeding time' he declared loudly.

'So what's it like being pet food?' Angel asked. 'It's pretty handy the way my boy took you alive' he said. 'They just don't make good quality HellGod Kibble these days' he said regretfully.

'Oh shit' the mercenary exclaimed as the blond entered his view. 'What the fuck is going on here?' he demanded to know. 'You're on our side' he said. 'We, I, looked after you' he reminded Glory.

Wesley shrugged. 'After your close encounter of the blunt heavy kind our god beat your god and made Glory here her bitch' he said. 'Isn't that right Glorificus?' he asked sarcastically.

'Look do I get to eat this guys brains or not?' the HellGod asked in an annoyed tone before turning to address the mercenary. 'I'm sort of sorry about this, you guys were great, but I'm like starving and they won't let me eat anyone else' she told him apologetically.

'You can't let her do that to me?' the mercenary protested to Angel, weirdly the vampire seemed more reasonable than the bosses human ex.

Angel snorted. 'Are you kidding?' he asked. 'We already know from her you've been feeding her innocent people for weeks, it's not like you don't deserve it' he said. 'Now talk or she chows down.'

The merc grimaced. 'What do you want to know?' he gave in.

'Shit' Glory swore. 'You were right' she told Angel. 'He _is_ a pussy' she declared angrily. 'Haven't you got any backbone?' she asked the mercenary.

'That's enough' Wesley responded sternly to the HellGod then turned back to the mercenary. 'We know pretty much the whole story already, Glory was more in the loop than a grunt like you, but do you know if Wolfram and Hart have a backup team that was going to come in guns blazing if Plan A failed?'

The mercenary shook his head. 'Not the companies' style' he replied. 'They'll hire more demons, or summon them maybe, but my guess is they'll give up on the operation and try something else. I've been with them nearly ten years, I know' he said.

'They do prefer hands-off' Angel agreed. 'They won't throw good money after bad and we know The First screwed them so they won't have a problem screwing him right back. He that fights and runs away lives to fight another day' he quoted. 'They're in it for the long haul.'

Wesley couldn't help but agree as well. Wolfram and Hart weren't set up for a war, they could raise an army if they needed one but it wasn't their normal modus operandi, they were schemers and plotters not conquerors. They had warriors when needed but that didn't mean they were ready for outright war, they'd exhaust the other avenues first before throwing themselves fully into the fight.

'Buffy had a question for him' Angel remembered. 'What did you do with the people you fed to Glory?' he asked the mercenary. 'We've checked the psych wards everywhere around here and we're not finding any of them, just _ordinary_ insane people' he said. If they could locate those Glory had fed from Buffy had hoped they might be able to restore their sanity, as they had done for Tara before.

The mercenaries' left eye twitched involuntarily. 'We shipped them back to LA' he replied. 'Didn't want you getting a heads-up about blondie there' he said.

'Okay so that was clearly bullshit' Angel responded immediately. 'You pick up on body language after a couple of hundred years watching people and you can't lie for shit' he told him.

'They're in LA' the mercenary insisted nervously.

Wesley drew a knife from a sheath on his belt and held it to catch the light. 'Think I _won't_ cut you up?' he asked coldly.

The mercenary took a breath. 'After she did the finger in the head thing, and they went nuts, we drove them out a few miles and we…' he paused.

'You killed them and buried the bodies' Wesley finished for him.

'Yeah' the merc admitted. 'We did it quick and painless though' he added quickly. 'We're professionals.'

Angel looked at the man tied to the chair then to Wesley who nodded. 'Glory he's all yours' he told her, shaking his head in disgust. These Wolfram and Hart scumbags were actually human, with souls and everything he considered. Give me a decent soulless demon any day, he thought, at least they had _some_ excuse for what they did.

'Oh God no' the mercenary implored, struggling against his bonds.

'I'll take him out and get rid of him afterwards' Wesley told Angel as Glory moved towards her meal. 'It might be painful though' he continued darkly, glaring at the panicking mercenary. 'I'm just an amateur' he said.

**Summers Residence – Sunnydale – May 2003**

The way she cringed slightly before speaking said it all. 'So how are you feeling Willow?' Dawn asked, passing her a mug of soup which Kennedy had asked her to make, apparently Willow didn't think she could chew too well at the moment.

'Like I was slugged by a god' Willow replied with a slur. It looked like a fair proportion of her face was one big bruise on the left side. How she'd got away with all her teeth and an unbroken jaw was a miracle. Illyria threw the best sucker-punch on the planet.

Kennedy looked upset. 'Want me to hit her back?' she asked.

Willow shook her head but regretted the movement. 'You'd just hurt your knuckles' she replied, taking Kennedy's hand in her free one and giving it a squeeze, she would have kissed her if it wouldn't have hurt like hell. Willow had been right on the precipice, she had enjoyed hurting Vail and having him escape had left the witch mightily pissed-off. If Illyria hadn't pulled the plug by knocking her unconscious she was scared to imagine what might have happened. Her face regretted the God-Kings somewhat direct solution but she had to admit, it got the job done.

'Maybe she wanted someone else around the same colour as she is?' Dawn joked, indicating the bruising. 'It's not you though, it clashes with the hair' she added.

Willow chuckled and instantly regretted that too. 'Can I have more painkillers yet?' she asked hopefully.

'Not for another two hours' Kennedy replied, checking her watch, she had been fussing over Willow since she came to, and had been watching over her with concern in the hours before that.

'Crap' Willow responded dejectedly.

'Drugs are bad M'Kay?' Dawn told her with a giggle.

Willow glared at her. '_Total_ crap' she replied coldly. 'Where's Glory?' she asked after taking a sip of her soup.

'Over at Angel's place' Dawn replied. 'She and Illyria are staying there now. Buffy didn't want her anywhere near either of us.'

Kennedy frowned. 'We should scythe that Hellgod Bitch' she opined. 'Too dangerous to have her around' she continued. 'It's like keeping a pet tiger in your bedroom.'

'Illyria likes her new toy' Dawn said. 'I think it's kinda fun to play with too' she added with a grin. 'Yanking her chain is more fun than should be legal.'

'Dangerous' Willow warned, keeping her answers short was less painful.

'I like to live life on the edge sometimes' Dawn replied, continuing to grin.

Willow looked her in the eye. 'Like the edge of the platform on that tower?' she asked.

That wiped the smile off Dawn's face, she shuddered thinking about it. She had nearly died up on that thing, Buffy _had_ died, and that was Glory's doing. 'Well what can we do about it?' she asked. 'Illyria doesn't seem to be the easily swayed type and it's not like we've got any hold over her' she said.

'We've got three dozen slayers and the scythe' Kennedy pointed out. 'She's not _that_ tough' she stated.

'How many slayers are you willing to lose to overpower an _ally_?' Dawn asked rhetorically. 'And I _like_ Illyria, she grows on you after you get used to the attitude and the superiority complex. She's even borderline _nice_ sometimes' she said.

'Wesley' Willow spoke up again. 'Just work on Wesley, Illyria listens to him.'

'She's got a crush on him' Kennedy said, 'which is weird because she actually _could_ crush him pretty easily.'

'He'd better hope she doesn't get carried away during sex' Dawn remarked then grinned at the expression on Willow's face. 'Yeah like we haven't heard you two lose control' she added with a wink.

The intact half of Willow's face blushed but she ignored Dawn's comments otherwise. 'We get Wesley to work on her. That's the best way' she stated.

'I'll talk to Buffy when she gets back from Angel's, get her to do it' Dawn said. 'Maybe Giles too, him and Wes, they've got the watcher, "duty" thing. It might help' she suggested.

Kennedy looked to Willow. 'While we're on the subject I'm not sure about Wesley' she said. 'He's… well he's really…'

'Borderline sociopathic?' Willow offered, Kennedy nodding in the afirmative. 'He does put out that vibe a little sometimes' she agreed.

Dawn smiled knowingly. 'It's affected' she told them, 'the attitude, the look and everything, he plays it up' she continued. 'I wasn't supposed to tell anyone but we've talked about it' she said.

'When we went to the motel he walked up to one off those Wolfram and Hart guys and just shot him in the back of the head, I mean just shot him. No warning, no nothing and he didn't look bothered by doing it at all' Kennedy told Dawn, miming a pistol shot with her hand. 'It was just the easiest way to get rid of him.'

Dawn sniffed. 'They _are_ the bad guys' she pointed out.

'They're called the "bad guys" because they do things like walk up to people just watching TV and blow their brains over the screen' Kennedy retorted. 'It's not exactly typical good guy behaviour' she said, 'unless I've really been watching the wrong films.'

'Have you heard what they were doing to the people after they fed them to Glory?' Dawn asked coldly. 'He got what he deserved, no scratch that, it was _quicker_ than he deserved' she stated. 'Him and the other one' she added.

Kennedy looked away. 'You've heard that Nietzsche quote that Andrew throws about to try and sound deep that if you fight monsters you should make sure not to become them right?' she asked. 'Well guess what I'm not sure of sometimes.'

'We're winning' Dawn responded. 'And we're not losing people we would have lost if Illyria and Wesley and the others hadn't turned up' she said. 'We're winning so hard we've got the forces of evil so scared of us they formed an alliance to fight back, it was a crappy alliance but they did it' she said.

'We're sailing uncharted waters Dawn' Willow responded. 'All those game metaphors Illyria makes, well to her it _is_ just a game and just because she's looking after the pawns now that doesn't mean she won't sacrifice a piece later.'

Dawn sighed. 'If we're _mixing_ metaphors we're sailing those uncharted waters in a Carrier Battle Group and as for the game we took their Queen already and we're three moves from checkmate' she replied. 'I'm with you on Glory, the "Queen" needs to end up like Marie Antoinette' she said, acting out having her her head on a block and using a hand to simulate a guillotine blade, 'but as for Illyria and Wesley I'm thinking of three words; ends, justifies and means' she continued. 'You were willing to let your control go to beat Vail' she pointed out, 'use a little bit of evil against itself right?'

'Two wrongs don't make a right Dawn' Willow replied.

Dawn resisted the urge to quip that while that was true two Wrights did however make an airplane like she usually would to anyone saying that, and instead she shrugged. 'I think we'll have to agree to disagree' she said.

Willow looked at her sadly then turned to Kennedy. 'Painkillers?' she asked again hopefully, the talking had not helped the pain in her jaw.

Kennedy shook her head. 'Sorry sweetheart' she apologised.

'Next time I go black-eyed and evilly can somebody just taser me instead?' Willow requested seriously.

**Crawford Street Mansion – Sunnydale – May 2003**

'The new situation alters the tactical environment' Illyria told the group. 'Before we only had to be concerned with preventing them exiting the seal but now they can hit us from both sides' she said. 'A large force of Turok-Han, likely reinforced by a larger contingent of Harbingers, hitting our forces from both sides would be a problem' she continued. 'They are better placed for a two front campaign than we are, if we divide our forces on both sides of the seal we could be overwhelmed and if we neglect one or the other our situation would be even worse. We would lose control of the vital ground, which is to say the seal itself.'

'They'd surround us' Angel agreed, looking at the diagrams Illyria had laid out, most of which were based on the plans of the school. 'We can't adequately defend every possible route without pulling slayers off the expeditionary force Buffy is going to take into the Hellmouth.'

Buffy crossed her arms gingerly, she still hadn't healed fully. 'I've seen how many Turok-Han are down there, even with the extra equipment and training if we go in short we'll be leaving people behind' she said.

'Unacceptable' Illyria stated. 'We need to emerge from this campaign with as many intact resources as possible for the next one. We will need to find another way' she insisted.

'No nukes' Buffy told her quickly.

Illyria frowned. 'Your objection to that simple, effective and entirely workable plan is well noted' she replied. 'I was not going to suggest it again' she said.

Faith stretched her arms. 'Fucking Wolfram and Hart' she said. 'If they hadn't taken all those uber-vamps out by portal we wouldn't be in this situation' she complained bitterly wishing she had roughed up a few other lawyers when she had been there.

'We beat them the other day' Rona pointed out. 'We kicked their asses' she declared.

'Fifty of them versus almost all of us' Faith replied. 'There's, what five times as many on this side of the seal now, and thousands of them down in the hellmouth, we fight them all at once and we'll be bloody.'

Illyria's jaw dropped as the solution dawned on her. 'I am unbelievably stupid sometimes' she suddenly declared to everyone's shock. 'It must be all the human characteristics I inherited with the shell' she continued, instantly restoring everyone's faith in her ego and superiority complex. 'The Wolf, Ram and Hart forced a portal through beyond the seal' she reminded everyone.

'So?' Buffy queried.

Illyria looked around. 'To do that would take enormous energy, even the Senior Partners would have been so severely drained I would have thought it impossible but I was clearly mistaken in that belief' she said. 'However if _they_ can do it so can _we_' she declared.

'Why would we want to bring out Turok-Han?' Buffy asked.

'We would not be taking things out, we would be putting them _in_' Illyria replied.

Wesley looked puzzled. 'We can already put things into the hellmouth' he said, 'we just need to open the seal' he continued. 'In fact I've been preparing napalm ingredients for days in preparation for just such an action' he noted.

'The seal is too small and in the wrong place' Illyria responded patiently. 'We need to open a portal into the centre of the cavern where the Turok-Han will be massing' she said.

Buffy looked the God-King in her glacial blue eyes. 'What are you planning to do?' she asked suspiciously.

'Nothing radioactive' Illyria assured her. 'I will need to portal somewhere to pick them up first, and then leave my powers alone for a day or two to let the shell fully recuperate before the battle, but by the coming weekend we should be ready to go' she said confidently.

'I'm still not hearing details' the slayer responded, narrowing her eyes. There was something very disturbing in the way that the God-King of the Primordium was suddenly acting, what was going on in that scheming brain underneath that blue hair, she wondered?

**Nellis Airforce Base – Nevada – May 2003**

'Say that again Airman. We're missing _what_?'


	28. Chapter 28

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT**

**Summers Residence – Sunnydale - May 2003**

'Well we've looked but we can't find where they're hiding' Gunn reported. Faith, a team of Slayers and himself had been looking for signs of Bringers or Turok-Han all morning. 'This town is like a rabbit warren underground' he observed, 'and I thought the LA sewers were a maze' he continued, shaking his head.

Buffy looked at him suspiciously and subconsciously sniffed the air.

'And _yes_ we showered before we came over here' Gunn told her. 'Katrina there got washed up twice' he said, indicating one of the slayers sitting on the carpet cross-legged.

'I fell into the sewer mains' the young slayer explained with a shudder in response to Buffy's quizzical look, she was Austrian, though fluent in English, and was one of the more recent arrivals. 'When we got back to the Mansion Faith made me strip outside and they turned a hose on me' she moaned. 'It was freezing.'

'Get pictures?' Xander asked, Gunn tongue-in-cheek.

'Mud wrestling is one thing but girls in sewer sludge ain't ever going to be appealing' Gunn replied. 'I left them to it' he said.

'Told you that balance was important' Stephen told the girl, chuckling. She hadn't been all that that sure-footed during fencing practice either. Katrina glared at him and he grinned back before returning to polishing the sword in his hands. It wasn't his but one of the newly enchanted short-swords the Guardian had been working on. He had been given the job of maintaining them since it kept him occupied and he had an unhealthy interest in both swords and swordsmanship anyhow. It was becoming a universally held opinion that he was born several hundred years late, Angel said he'd have made a duelling superstar back in the 18th Century, now by contrast he was just a sword nerd.

Giles took off his glasses and started cleaning them. For once they were actually dirty and needed it. 'The First will lay low for now' he said. 'If we want a confrontation we'll have to force it' he told the group.

'Easily done' Xander responded. 'As soon as we open the seal they'll come a-running' he said. 'Course they'll be running from both directions at once but at least we'll have them right where we want them' he continued, 'surrounding us completely so we can't retreat… ' he said, voice petering off. 'And that sounded _much_ better in my head than out loud' he admitted, 'not so much like reenacting Custer's last stand.'

'If Custer had bought the Gatling Guns his Regiment had been issued with him to the Little Big Horn it wouldn't have turned out the same way' Wesley pointed out. 'We'll be making damn sure to remember to bring machineguns to _our_ stand' he said.

'I heard that' Gunn responded, leaning over with a clenched fist to touch knuckles with Wesley who did so with a practised aplomb that looked completely out of character to his fairly refined, upper-middle-class British accent.

'Just what America needs' Faith remarked wryly. 'More guns in schools.'

Emily re-entered the room, she had given up her seat to go and get a drink but now she was back she found it had been taken by Faith and there was no way _she_ was going to surrender it. The only free space was on the floor and that looked unappealing despite the three newly arrived slayers from Faith and Gunn's team who had already opted to sit there, so instead she walked over to Stephen and after indicating he needed to put down the sword she sat on his lap instead, he looked distinctly uncomfortable but put an arm around her waist.

'If you two think you're going to start making out guess again' Buffy told them.

'They're bad enough back at the Mansion' Faith remarked.

'Ah young love how sweet' Xander said cloyingly, causing Stephen to blush bright red. 'Did I say sweet? I meant nauseating' he joked.

'All preparations for tomorrow night are completed' Illyria told the group, entering the room herself. She had been outside leading a training session but had left Glory on her own after making sure the HellGod knew that she was not allowed to retaliate to the various blows being rained upon her by a group of slayers led by Kennedy. Glory was fun to hit for slayers, you didn't have to pull your punches and you were pretty certain she deserved it.

Illyria looked around, there were no chairs free and in her "Ria" persona she preferred not to remain standing as she would have in her armour. She noted the simple and workable solution that had been already tried by another and immediately walked over and sat down on Wesley's lap. He had absolutely no idea how to respond and opted to just go with it, looking several orders of magnitude more embarrassed than young Stephen had.

'So are _they_ bad back at the mansion too?' Xander asked Faith with a smirk, indicating Wesley and Illyria.

'Ain't witnessed any hot Limey on God action over there yet' Faith replied.

'I'm sure they're just discrete' Giles suggested, unable to resist joining in.

'Et tu Brute?' Wesley replied coldly, glaring at the older watcher who was clearly fighting the urge to laugh.

Illyria guessed they were mocking Wesley again, she did not like it but on the plus side it often seemed to have the effect of making him retaliate to their words in a manner that she welcomed. In this case he put his arm around her waist as Stephen had done with Emily and threw a challenging look around the room. Illyria was surprised at how pleasant the physical contact was, it felt strangely right as she settled in more comfortable on his lap.

'Where's Willow?' Faith asked curiously.

'Helping enchant weaponry with the Guardian' Buffy replied. 'We should have enough to go around by the end of today' she announced.

'Think she'd have a go at my axe?' Gunn asked.

'She wouldn't do my Longsword' Stephen responded. 'But you're not a "Shadow Man" like me so you might still want to give it a try' he suggested then laughed. 'You should have seen her try to come to terms with Emily and the notion there's female watchers now. It throws her whole world-view for a loop that we're not just another tool of male oppression' he continued, 'not that there's not plenty of those in society' he added quickly as many females who could break him in half, and one who he was now dating, simultaneously looked at him in a very intimidating manner.

The Guardian/Watcher enmity was not fading with time. 'Did Giles tell you we figured out some back-story on the Guardian?' Wesley asked, 'or at least a theory we have anyway.'

'No' Buffy replied, looking to Giles quizzically.

'It's not certain so I was waiting until we had something concrete' Giles told the slayer.

'Oh come on Giles' Wesley responded. 'She's old turn-to-stone herself' he said with a grin. 'She even called herself Medousa to me on the radio once when she was rattled by the Bringer attack on the Pyramid' he continued. 'Hey that was funny, her being "rattled" I mean.'

'Really missing some information here' Faith commented loudly in an annoyed tone. They were flaunting education around her again and it annoyed the crap out of her.

Giles sighed. 'Medousa is the original Greek name which became Medusa in Latin. You know, the woman whose hair was made of snakes and whose gaze could turn any living thing to stone' he explained. 'It actually translates into English as "Guardian" intriguingly enough.'

'We think that she and her sisters may have been the victims of the original smear campaign, possibly by demons or even possibly by the watchers of the day if they found out they were under surveillance' Wesley added. 'They were collectively called the Gorgons and included Stheno and Euryale. In myth all three had "brass hands" which _could_ be a distorted reference to weapon making. As a slight aside there is a school of thought in modern feminist thinking that the Gorgon myth _was_ designed as another way to oppress women. Perhaps the notion of powerful, armaments-minded women was unacceptable in some quarters so the story was spun to put them in a very poor light' he theorised.

'In any case if we're right she _does_ look as good for her age as she maintains because we're talking about Bronze Age mythology here' Giles told them. 'Immortality _was_ in fact a trait attributed to the Gorgons' he noted.

'Having seen her hairstyle when we first met I can see where the snake thing might have come from' Buffy observed. 'And she _has_ been damn quiet about her background' she added.

'Maybe expected someone to do a Perseus on her' Xander suggested, indicating the sword Stephen had been working on.

Giles looked at him in surprise.

'I've seen Clash of the Titans' Xander told him. 'I knew what you were talking about' he said.

'So who wants to ask her?' Faith asked.

'I'll do it' Buffy volunteered.

Illyria shuffled around slightly again to make herself more comfortable, leaning back against Wesley who had now relaxed quite a bit himself, getting used to her sitting there. 'I expected the Half-Breeds to be here' she said.

'Spike said he was going to make the most of his last few hours' Faith responded. 'Angel is making sure he doesn't enjoy himself _too_ much.'

'Where are they?' Buffy asked curiously.

'They wouldn't say but Connor overheard something about poetry reading' Faith replied with a bemused shrug.

'Good grief' Giles responded in mock horror. 'If what the Council files said on Spike were true humanity would be better off if he went back to biting necks.'

'Must be part Vogon' Emily joked then frowned at the lack of response. 'I cannot _believe_ there's no Douglas Adams fans here' she said eventually.

'I thought it was funny' Stephen told her quickly.

'He _has_ to say that' Xander pointed out.

Buffy looked thoughtful for a moment and looked across to Illyria. 'Are you sure this plan of yours is going to work?' she asked.

'I am confident' Illyria replied.

'What if everything goes catastrophically wrong?' Giles asked. 'It could you know.'

Illyria considered that possibility. 'I could always remake the timeline once more' she said. 'It wouldn't help _you_ but I would be fine and I would not make the same mistake again' she replied. 'Eventually by trial and error I would succeed' Illyria told them, ignoring the looks directed her way.

'I know you've been trying to be funnier lately, trying to develop your interpersonal skills' Wesley responded, 'but you've still got some work to do on that.'

'I wasn't joking' the God-King responded flatly.

Wesley blinked. '_Lots_ of work to do on your interpersonal skills' he told her.

**Shadow Valley Vineyards – May 2003**

'I call shotgun on the front seat of Wesley's SUV when we leave' Vi said loudly. 'And by that I mean I get the seat or someone gets this shotgun up their nose' she said brandishing the SPAS-12 combat shotgun in her hands. It was of course unloaded, Wesley would go insane if she played around with a _loaded_ weapon.

'Why do you guys get a gun too and I don't?' one of the other slayers asked, looking at her sword which now suddenly looked a lot less desirable.

'Because only people that Wes thought wouldn't be a major threat to _our_ side as well if they carried one get issued any firearms' Kennedy told her, taking one of the dual action pump/auto shotguns for herself from the crate as Fred ticked her name off the list. Kennedy racked the shotgun on its empty chamber she really liked the badass look of the thing, it suited her image she decided.

Vi however looked strangely incongruous, almost uncomfortable, holding hers, it didn't look right at all, but ironically she was the best with a firearm of all the slayers, go figure Kennedy thought, heading off to collect her equipment belt from Anya. She was actually making people _sign_ for them before she'd hand them over, Anya took paperwork and basic administration far too seriously.

As she headed down the tunnel towards Anya Kennedy passed Connor heading the other way. He was laden with gear, including two bulging satchels hanging from him, one on either side. 'Grenades?' she asked, indicating the thick cloth bags.

'White-Phosphorus' he said pointing at one, 'and Concussion' he continued, pointing at the other.

'They wouldn't give _me_ any grenades' Kennedy told him, pouting slightly.

'Slayers throw like girls' Connor replied, 'just faster' he told her, trying not to laugh.

Kennedy glared at him, she'd consider making a counter-remark but she knew he threw better than anyone else here, or possibly anywhere. He had strength, accuracy and technique that would make a baseball pitcher cry. Probably came from having to hunt his own dinner chucking rocks all those years she thought. 'No shotgun?' she asked, indicating her SPAS-12.

'Preferred not to carry one' Connor replied. 'If I carried anything else it would start to slow me down' he told her.

'Oh yeah I keep forgetting you're not quite as strong as us slayer _girls_' Kennedy retorted with a smirk.

Connor grinned. 'Yeah and if I carried any more than this I'd be almost as slow moving' he replied.

Kennedy laughed, she liked verbal sparring with Connor, neither of them were the type to back down and it was good natured rivalry for the position of meanest superhuman newcomer to the ranks. Illyria didn't really qualify for the running, she just wasn't human enough by far. 'I'd better go and fill in my requisition form for an equipment belt' she told Connor.

'Make sure to initial in the right place or she'll show you her Vengeance Demon side' Connor warned seriously and gave Kennedy a friendly smile before heading to see Wesley.

He found him around a corner in the tunnels with Xander as they finished modifying the latter's M16A2 with one of the latest deliveries from Emil the arms dealer. They had been putting a lot of trade his way and apparently they now qualified for his preferred-customer discount.

'Say hello to my little friend' Xander said to Connor in his best impression of Tony Montana from Scarface. Unfortunately the teenager had never seen the film and was mystified at the relevance of the Cuban accent, though he didn't let on and smiled and nodded knowingly instead as Dawn had coached him to do in these sorts of circumstances.

'We couldn't get many grenades for it' Wesley apologised, indicating the small box of ammunition for the single-shot grenade launcher now installed under the barrel of Xanders assault rifle, 'tricky to source, but you've got high-explosive and some flares' he told Xander. 'Just remember that there's a _minimum_ safe distance for the explosives as well as a maximum range.'

Xander looked at him. 'I am fully trained in the use of the M203 40 millimetre grenade-launcher' he replied professionally. 'Or at least I remember the training on using it that I never actually had in real life' he said.

Connor looked at Xander then Wesley. 'What's the minimum safe distance?' he asked the former watcher just in case he found himself near Xander when he used it.

'If he fires at anything closer than say thirty yards look out for shrapnel coming all the way right back' Wesley warned.

'Your faith in me is overwhelming' Xander replied, shouldering the empty weapon. 'This is much cooler than that flame-thrower Gunn was working on back there' he said. 'In both senses of the word' he joked.

'Difference is that won't _scare_ a vampire but they don't like fire one bit' Wesley noted. He'd seen how they reacted to a flame-thrower before, they were wary of stakes and crosses but a jet of burning fuel bothered them much more.

Xander bought the rifle up to point it upwards holding it one-handed by the grip and resting the stock on his hip. 'I just want to see how "Uber" they are in itty bitty chunks' he declared.

Robin Wood walked by with a broadsword over one shoulder and looked Xander and his new toy over cautiously. 'Please don't blow up too much of my school' he requested.

'It's going to fall in a big hole anyway' Xander responded reasonably.

Wood grimaced. 'It's the principle of the thing' he replied. 'Or maybe the Principal in me' he added, pointing to himself with his free hand. 'It bothers me enough to see the students run in the corridors, not that I've got many students any more, the town is practically deserted' he said, 'but the idea of having it parts of it blown up grates.'

'Gotta love that Hellmouth vibe' Xander remarked in regards to the diminishing population. 'Makes me homesick whenever I'm away' he told them, 'and sometimes makes me sick when I'm at home' he added.

'Talking of which did you move your stuff from home?' Wesley asked him.

Xander nodded. 'All boxed up and in the cavern down there' he replied. 'We're well outside the city limits out here and there's some things I wanted to keep.'

'Get that extra householders insurance I suggested?' Wesley asked with a smirk.

'Oh hell yeah, I'm going to make a fortune' Xander replied, grinning.

Wood rolled his eyes, he wasn't sure that making money off averting an apocalypse was necessarily a moral action, it had a mercenary ring about it. 'I've got to see a man about a crossbow' he told them and went to see Giles.

The senior watcher was doing a final demonstration down by the tunnel Wesley had been using as a firing range. 'This is an Arbalest' he began. 'It's a late medieval crossbow design based around using a steel bow, rather than other materials' he informed the slayers with him. 'It is far more powerful than a wooden bow, and can fire a bolt with several times as much force, but that also meant it had to be drawn by mechanical means, usually a windlass or pulley, so the rate of fire was much lower as well' he continued. 'Of course that was with an ordinary person rather than a slayer' he noted, passing the weapon to Rona. 'Pull the string back until it locks' he instructed her.

It took some effort but Rona cocked the crossbow and Giles handed her a bolt which she loaded. 'See that metal plate down there' he indicated. 'Give it a try.'

Rona aimed and pulled the trigger. The weapon launched its steel tipped wooden bolt down the range and easily punched through the metal target.

Giles smiled. 'The Arbalest was designed to take out an Armoured Knight, you'll find that it should equally well penetrate the chest of a Turok-Han' he told them. 'But make sure that like Rona you are wearing the special gloves because you could easily damage your fingers drawing the bow' he warned. 'Ah Robin' he said, noting the mans arrival, 'your composite crossbow is over there' he told him, pointing to the weapon. 'It's easier to draw than one of these but not as powerful so you'll need to get close' he said.

'Not as close as I'd need to be to use a stake' Wood replied, retrieving the modern hunting crossbow and a quiver of bolts for it.

Giles acknowledged the mans appreciation and turned back to the girls. 'We've only got six of these Arbalests' he told them 'which is why only you slayers who proved best with an ordinary crossbow during training get issued one' he said.

'I wanted a shotgun' one of the slayers muttered in annoyance.

'It takes more skill to use one of these effectively, as Wesley is well aware' Giles responded, overhearing her, 'so those who had the highest scores with _both_ weapons got one of these instead' he told them. 'A shotgun will certainly knock a Turok-Han back if you use it point-blank but it _won't_ kill him. One of these bolts through the ribcage into the heart will however turn one to dust instantly before they get anywhere near you' he said, holding one up. 'I know you youngsters are enamoured of Mr Wyndham-Pryce and his collection of guns, grenade-launchers and whatnot, but good, reliable, centuries proven technology still has its place in the slayer arsenal' he declared. 'Now take a crossbow and get some quick practice' he ordered sternly.

Robin smiled at the watcher's speech. The one that raised him after his mother's death had demonstrated a strong luddite tendency too he recalled, Wyndham-Pryce was very much the aberration apparently what with his high-tech, gadget and firepower approach to fighting demons.

'Honestly' Giles said, shaking his head sadly, 'in a few years it'll all be Slayers with laser-guns and those light-sword thingies from the pictures I'm sure' he moaned.

'Light _sabres_' Robin Wood corrected him.

'The new Dark Ages as far as I'm concerned' Giles replied. 'Buffy is going to make a speech in half an hour, you've been looking around do you think we're ready for this?' he asked.

Wood considered his response. 'From what I've seen we're ready to invade a medium sized country' he replied. 'Have you seen what they're giving some of these girls?' he asked rhetorically. 'You see TV news pictures of troops in Iraq with less weaponry' he declared.

Giles smirked. 'Don't you know its already "Mission Accomplished" over there' he replied. 'Your President said so a couple of weeks back.'

'And if that doesn't come back to bite him on the ass I'll eat this crossbow' Wood replied. 'I'm going to get something more palatable to eat in the meantime, see you at the speech' he told Giles.

'I'll save you a place at the front' Giles replied, fighting a grin.

'Don't you dare' Wood responded quickly. 'Sticking the kids in the front row of the class is a punishment you know.'

'But she enjoys it so much' Giles responded with a indulgent smile.

'I've heard her speeches' Wood replied quietly, making sure there were no slayers close enough to hear. 'Henry the Fifth she is not.'

'I'd be happy with the speech by Henry the Fourth of France at the Battle of Ivry' Giles told him. 'In its entirety it went like this; "Soldiers! I am your King. You are Frenchmen. There is the enemy. Charge".'

'And did he win?' Wood asked curiously.

Giles nodded. 'He did' the watcher confirmed.

'I'm assuming we won't be getting the same?' Wood asked, with the barest glimmer of hope.

'Slayers! I am your leader, we fight demons. There are the Turok-Han. Stake them' Giles said with a wry smile. 'We should _be_ so lucky. Buffy and brevity are only linked by the starting letter I'm afraid.'

'Well it adds to the occasion I suppose' Wood replied. 'Time for a sandwich, can't go fighting evil on an empty stomach' he said.

Giles watched him head off to where Andrew was making and distributing food with the assistance of the young watcher twins and turned back to his slayers. 'If you're all happy grab a quiver of bolts from over there and if you want to get food, or you still need to collect any equipment go and do so now please' he told them.

As they left carrying their Arbalest Crossbows, Giles wondered if it could be the case that it was the simplicity of the speech by Henry IV at Ivry that had been the key to victory. If so he thought might Illyria's own plan with a rather more substantive "Key" grant victory too, it was certainly simple and direct enough.

Going to be a hectic night he thought.

**Seal of Danthalzar – Sunnydale High School – May 2003**

They had quickly dug up the concrete with pneumatic drills and opened the seal with a bucket of blood before, as quietly as possible, they moved down into the hellmouth cavern itself. Even though none had been near the stone steps leading down from the seal it only took a few minutes before one of the Turok-Han noticed them and snarled a warning to its companions who came running in a pressing mass of fangs and fury.

The slayers turned and ran, which would have surprised the Turok-Han if they had more intelligence. The last in the group, Buffy herself, tipped over all the barrels as she fled. They had been lowered down as fast as possible as soon as the seal was opened and several were now pouring their contents into the dirt.

Once back up the hole they dropped a thick steel plate over the top of the seal and a dozen slayers stacked concrete blocks onto it as quickly as they could, forming a chain to move as fast as possible. By the time they could hear pounding on the steel plate from underneath there were already several tonnes holding it down. Turok-Han weren't _that_ "uber" and they simply lacked the leverage to shift it, so whilst the fact the seal was now technically open, and the vampires kept coming as a result, they were now packed them in a dense mob all the way back down the tunnel because they couldn't get out.

It was now time for stage two of the plan.

**Basketball Court - Sunnydale High School – May 2003**

Working away in the middle of the court Ben couldn't held but be aware of the slayer standing behind him holding the scythe and the other one in front pointing a shotgun at him as he got on with his task. If he did anything untoward, or if Glory appeared and looked like she was going to cause trouble, they'd be summarily executed. It had been stated quite simply to him in those exact terms and he believed it.

Dawn couldn't bring herself to watch as she gave blood, she was surprised she hadn't fainted, but Willow was there holding her hand both as a comfort and as another hold over Glory if required. Illyria had warned she might be temporarily out of commission, and perhaps not up to fighting the HellGod again for at least a few minutes after opening the portal.

'Okay that's it' Ben announced and finished up, removing the apparatus from Dawn's arm and getting her to press a patch over it. 'Not too painful I hope' he said.

'It was okay' Dawn replied. She was slightly pale not only from blood loss but also from general nervousness.

Illyria walked over and took the glass jar of blood that had been donated by the girl. 'Very good' she told both Dawn and Ben.

'Does that mean I can take off this stupid thing around my neck as a reward' Ben asked hopefully.

Illyria looked at him. He was wearing a blue ribbon with a sapphire hanging from it, also blue of course, which symbolised a slave collar. 'Be grateful my natural hue is not pink or you would look even more foolish' Illyria replied. 'It would be a tight leather ring if you and Glory had the same neck size' she told him, 'It was only the fact that one sized for her would asphyxiate you upon transition that I allowed this compromise' she said.

Ben knew there was no point arguing. He just pulled off the latex gloves he'd been wearing and fingered the damn thing with annoyance.

'Everything's ready in the basement' Kennedy the slayer holding the scythe told them, listening to her radio headset. Everyone was now wearing one, after cleaning out every radio-shack in the area, but unlike most of the others she was tuned to the command frequency Buffy was using for special orders. 'They've re-closed the way out from seal' she announced.

'These things are ready to go too' Fred reported, closing up the panel on the devices hanging suspended in a scaffold construction that took up much of the court. 'Just pull the lever there to release and they'll arm when they fall' she told them. 'I'm heading down to the basement to make sure my seal saws are ready to go' she explained and left them to it, picking up her equipment pack on the way. 'See you down there' she told them.

'So what's the next part of the ritual?' Willow asked, intrigued.

'Ritual?' Illyria repeated quizzically.

'How do you extract some of the keys power from Dawns blood?' the witch asked.

Illyria rolled her eyes at the witches naivety, broke open the bottle, and tipped the contents down her throat with a distinct gurgling noise as she gulped it down.

'Oh that's just gross' Willow responded, sticking out her tongue in distaste. 'I was expecting Latin chanting or something' she added, appalled. It was worse than watching Spike or Angel drink a mug of warm pigs blood by a large margin.

'_You_ think it's gross' Dawn said, with a grimace. 'It's not _your_ blood' she pointed out.

Illyria suddenly bent over in pain. 'Too much power' she said, wincing. 'I can barely contain it.'

'She dies, you die immediately' Kennedy told Ben. 'Nothing personal but she's the only thing that keeps evil Hellbitch in control' she stated.

'Oh my Goddess' Willow cried out as cracks started to appear in Illyria's face and blue light streamed out, her shell starting to overload under the strain of trying to contain so much energy.

The God-King screamed then held out her hand and projected a portal onto the floor of the hall, lightning dancing around both it and her. The spinning portal vortex grew until it was large enough to drop the devices through. 'Do it' she bellowed to Willow who had moved across to the lever.

Willow pulled the handle and two identical 2000 pound metal tubes were released from the chains suspending them over the vortex, the electronics inside activating as they fell into it.

'Fire in the hole' Kennedy yelled into her headset as the portal collapsed along with Illyria. Willow ran to her immediately while the slayer positioned herself to swing the scythe.

**Hellmouth Cavern – Sunnydale – May 2003**

Thousands of Turok-Han looked up at the whirling energy field that had appeared above them.

As they watched two large metal tubes dropped through and immediately began to vent high pressure gas as they fell, forming a huge cloud of vapour. BLU-96 Thermobaric Bombs, until recently the property of the United States Air Force. Illyria was fond of the name, it was often pronounced "Blue-Ninety-Six".

Fuel-Air Explosives, the next best thing to an atomic bomb.

The vapour cloud was still expanding when they hit the ground crushing a group of Turok-Han between them.

'That fucking Blue bit…' the First, in Caleb's form standing inside the cloud, started to say when the twin bombs sparked and ignited the cloud of vapour. It had sensed the seal was about to open and had been off summoning his Turok-Han and Harbinger forces already on the other side of the seal when he had then felt the portal forming and had dashed back to see what was going on. It was a good thing for the First that it was incorporeal because otherwise it would have been having an even worse day.

Within the cloud the temperature when it detonated reached nearly three-thousand degrees and the blastwave travelled out at thousands of miles an hour, incinerating everything within hundreds of yards in all directions and pulverising anything through sheer overpressure even further out than that.

Fortunately the cavern could not be breached by purely physical means or otherwise the explosion would have likely dropped a large part of Sunnydale straight into the hole by itself right there and then, if it could have of course the First would have simply had its forces tunnel out or collapse the seal from its rocky bed from inside long ago. As it was it was quite devastating enough thank you, a large part of the First's mighty uber-vamp Army was instantly incinerated into dust or smashed by the pressure into broken bodies in the huge flash of blast and fire.

In the tunnel that led to the seal, the mass of Turok-Han that had chased the slayers also demonstrated they were not blessed with much intellect because they ignored all the barrels scattered around and the fact that the ground was unusually squelchy underfoot.

When the fireball touched off the trickle of Wesley's homemade napalm that was running down the slope they regretted not paying more attention to the smell at least as several hundred more suddenly found themselves standing in a furnace.

**Seal of Danthalzar – Sunnydale High School – May 2003**

They felt the shockwave right through the ground at the same time as a gigantic boom rattled the steel plate and even shifted some of the concrete blocks. Smoke billowed through the narrow gaps around the plate, it smelled like burning petrol and fuel oil 'Oh that _had_ to hurt' Xander said, grinning.

'When we shift the plate again we should chuck in some grenades in case there's survivors near the entrance' Wesley advised Buffy.

Molly ran up. 'Report from observers up top' she announced. 'We have large numbers of Uber-Vamps and Bringers moving towards the school. They're coming up from the sewers as expected.'

Buffy nodded. Those night-vision goggles were a blessing she thought. 'Alright everyone get into position for ambush' she ordered, sending most of the slayers sprinting away with Xander following them.

Another smaller explosion could be heard in the distance. 'I guess they found the incendiary grenade traps I put in the main sewer pipe coming into the school' Wesley commented. 'They won't try _that_ again' he stated confidently before another muffled detonation interrupted him. 'Or maybe they will' he corrected himself. 'Doesn't matter, we've got that route well covered and if they want to keep blowing themselves up they're welcome to' he said.

'The First would never have expected us to attack at night' Buffy declared. 'It would have assumed we'd want to keep the Turok-Han bottled up indoors.'

'Can't wipe 'em all out at once if you play safe' Faith responded, hefting her sword. 'Let's go kick some ass boss' she said to Buffy.

Buffy picked her own weaponry, 'After you Faith' she offered graciously.

'Thanks fearless leader' Faith replied and the two trotted off together.

Wesley yawned and followed on after them in a relaxed manner chambering a round in his assault rifle as he went and wishing that Angel and Spike hadn't laid first claim to the grenade launchers. To be fair they handled the recoil better than he could he admitted reluctantly to himself. 'Hey Fred' he greeted her in a friendly tone, passing her heading the other way.

'Hey Wes' she replied. 'Mexican for dinner?' she asked.

'Illyria will insist on it' Wesley told her.

One of the three slayers assigned to watch the seal watched the relaxed nonchalant attitude with interest. 'So how long do you think it takes before you get blasé about saving the world?' one asked the other two curiously as the first sounds of fighting started above.


	29. Chapter 29

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE**

**Sunnydale High School – Sunnydale – May 2003**

Buffy's radio crackled to life. '_I think it's sending in the Bringers first to wear us down a bit before hitting us with the Uber-Vamps_' Cordelia reported from her vantage point up on the roof looking down with the benefit of binoculars and night-vision gear. '_They're staying clear of each other. I guess the Turok-Han don't play well with others_' she theorised. The immediate grounds were quite well lit, and there was little chance the enemy could sneak inside. Connor was up on the roof too running from side to side, making sure nothing was missed.

'No surprise there' Buffy replied into her headset microphone. 'How many?' she asked.

'_Must be a hundred or so hitting the main entrance in the first wave_' Cordelia responded. '_Connor is yelling at me there's another fifty coming towards the rear fire doors on the East Wing_' she added.

'Well they make up for in numbers what they lack in tactical brilliance' Wesley observed wryly. 'I'll be at the main entrance, see you young ladies later' he told Buffy and Faith and started double-timing down the corridor leaving the two senior slayers to themselves.

'Giles are you ready in the East Wing?' Buffy asked.

'_Only fifty Harbingers_?' Giles replied. 'The _girls over here look quite insulted_' he continued over the same frequency. '_Stephen was hoping for more too_' he added. The young watchers hatred of The First's lackeys was evident whenever the subject came up, they had hunted him and he was overjoyed at the notion of hunting them right back.

'I'll take that as a yes then' Buffy responded, smiling at Faith.

'They're at the main entrance battering down the doors' Xander reported. '_They'll love the welcome we've laid out for them_.'

'Save the major pyrotechnics for the vamps' Buffy told him.

'_Yes Ma'am_' Xander replied. '_Here they come!'_ he exclaimed.

**Main Entrance – Sunnydale High School – May 2003**

The Harbingers launched themselves into the building and after advancing a few yards stopped dead in their tracks, there was no way to get through. To their surprise all the routes from that point on were effectively closed off to them and they were unsure what to do.

Barbed wire was everywhere, anchored around the columns and fixtures, building contractor power coming to the rescue yet again. Xander had cleared out every hardware store in town and had ran hundreds of yards of the stuff across every conceivable entrance route and unguarded corridor throughout the building. Secured in most places by nails driven into the walls and floor there was masses of it, like a vicious spiders web. It didn't even take very long to put up, all you needed were some heavy duty gloves, a hammer and some girls to carry the coiled wire around for you.

More and more Bringers piled into the building, forming a teeming mass of trapped bodies. Some started to try and hack their way through the wire with swords and axes but it got tangled up with their robes just like Xander thought it would.

'Ducks in a barrel' Xander declared, pulling back the cocking lever on his assault rifle as the half dozen slayers with him racked their shotguns. They had set up barricades made of desks and chairs in case the Bringers had crossbows, and were dug-in ready and waiting.

Xander took aim. 'FIRE' he bellowed and started emptying his magazine into the throng as the slayers fired cartridge after cartridge of buckshot into the Bringer horde. You can't easily force your way through a barbed wire fence but _shooting_ through it is a breeze.

Two more teams of slayers poured in crossfire from different corridors which also led to the main entrance. It was sheer unmitigated slaughter, the Harbingers were simply shot to pieces without a hope of retaliation.

'This is so much easier than stabbing them' one of the slayers declared, her voice barely audible over the cacophony of shotgun blasts.

The SPAS-12 shotguns the slayers were using only held eight shots and some stopped firing to reload or switched to handguns instead to save time. Those who had been given a passing grade by Wesley during firearms training now carried a holster with an automatic pistol on their belt as well as a scabbard hanging down on the other side carrying the new standard-issue short-sword which everyone had been given. The nine-millimetre bullets from the pistols were nowhere near as devastating as buckshot, but the girls made up for it in volume, firing as fast as they could.

Xander had set up a line of magazines for his M16A2 next to him for easy reloading and he was gradually working his way down the line. Unlike the shotguns or pistols his high-velocity ammunition was punching right though any Bringers he hit and often striking those behind into the bargain, two or three birds with one stone. The range was pitifully short for the weapon and the Bringers were so bunched up he barely had to aim at all, so Xander just fired random three-round bursts into the mob.

Another rifle, this one firing fully-automatic entered the fray, pouring in rounds from one of the other directions. Wesley was in the game, linking up with the slayers firing from the western corridor, the entire area was starting to fill up with smoke and the smell of ammunition discharges, it would have been filled with screams too but the Bringers just writhed silently instead, adding to the surreal nature of the scene.

'Cease Fire, Cease Fire' Xander yelled and the firing stopped almost at once.

After all the noise the sudden silence was simply bizarre. 'Any friendly casualties?' Wesley called out. 'Any get through the wire?' he asked.

'You must be joking' a slayer called back.

Xander looked into piles of heaped bodies and couldn't help but feel nauseated by the sight. It was appalling, only the alien look of the Bringers in their cowls made it bearable, if they had looked any less like the evil minions they were he thought he would have thrown up.

Wesley's voice came over the command frequency on Xanders headset. '_First World War re-enactment over_' he declared. '_Defenders One-Hundred points, Poor luckless bastards charging barbed wire and machine-guns Zero_.'

'Go Team' one of the slayers called out. 'De-Fence, De-Fence' she chanted with a laugh. They were already so desensitised to the violence, Xander thought, maybe it was that little remnant of demon power within them, or maybe it was TV, who knows?

'_They're coming in the East Wing_' Giles declared.

'So they're not quick learners' Xander told the girls he was near with a shrug.

**East Wing – Sunnydale High School – May 2003**

The Bringers forced open the double doors of the fire-escape and divided into two groups heading in each direction down the corridor. The group going left were immediately confronted around the next turn by the same barbed wire that had stopped their brethren at the main entrance and they retreated under a hail of gunfire from the girls behind it. They weren't _that_ stupid, they could have easily martyred themselves foolishly against the small number of armed slayers there but the First would not want them to throw their lives away for nothing so they headed back to join the others who had gone right.

That group had progressed much further, it probably should have occurred that they were being allowed to go along their way unmolested but they honestly weren't that bright either.

'Good evening can I see your hall passes?' Principal Wood asked them, sticking his head out from a classroom just ahead.

The Bringers charged towards him failing to notice they were splashing through a deep puddle that filled the corridor at its lowest point. If they'd stopped to taste it they would have noticed it was salty too, for better conduction.

The East Wing was the point at which the main power-line entered the building as the Harbingers discovered when Giles flicked a switch and put several thousand volts through them thanks to a extra piece of cable run from the main breakers.

They were still twitching when the rest of the Bringers who had originally turned left arrived, though Giles had already cut the power. Robin Wood then lost a fifty dollar bet to Giles because the former hadn't thought that the rest of them could possibly be dumb enough to investigate precisely _why_ their Harbinger brothers were laying there apparently dead but unwounded.

Giles flicked the switch again and made himself an easy fifty bucks by electrocuting another six of them before he shut it down for good.

The remaining twenty or so Bringers just stood there, as slayers with swords and axes emerged from the classrooms on the far side of the puddle of water. Robin Wood, child of a slayer himself, hefted his broadsword. 'Let's finish this old-school' he said. It was appropriate to the setting he thought.

'Sounds good to me' Stephen replied, sslinging his shotgun over his shoulder by its strap and drawing his sword whilst looking at the enemy with barely restrained loathing. 'Bringers' he said. 'I fucking _hate_ Bringers' he declared, spitting on the floor.

The slayers ran to the attack howling a battle-cry.

Giles listened in on his radio, The First would send in his best troops now, guns wouldn't stop them, they'd barely slow them down.

'_Turok-Han on the move_' Cordelia announced on the radio. '_They're coming in from the south near the car park_' she reported.

'_Numbers?_' Buffy queried.

'_Well over a hundred_' Cordelia replied.

'_Tell_ _Connor I want that number cut down fast_' Buffy ordered.

A series of explosions outside told Giles that Connor had complied.

**South Corridor – Sunnydale High School – May 2003 **

Angel watched through a window as grenades fell amongst the charging Turok-Han outside. 'Boy can really throw' Spike told him as another spectacular flash, followed by a window-rattling bang, heralded the detonation of another Incendiary Grenade. The uber-vamps apparently didn't like White-Phosphorus one bit judging from their reaction, not that Angel could blame them. They had scattered as soon as the grenades started falling on them but that meant they would arrive in small packets not a far more dangerous mass that might have smashed the defenders aside. Barbed wire and guns would only slow them down, or at worse just piss them off.

'They're coming in' Amanda shouted from a classroom, followed by the sound of a window shattering. The Turok-Han didn't worry about doors they just hurled themselves through the windows.

Down the corridor another implosion of glass had Angel spinning around as an uber-vamp crashed inside. It bared its teeth and hissed before exploding into dust as a slayer with an Arbalest Crossbow took it out. Another two followed it inside but were themselves immediately dusted in an even more spectacular fashion as Spike fired a rapid-fire pair of stake-rounds from his six-shot grenade-launcher, all you needed to do was put the dot from the laser sight over the heart and blow a hole in them. 'This thing is fucking ace' the peroxide-blond vampire yelled joyfully as Angel started moving the other way towards the sounds of combat.

As Angel ran into a classroom he watched a Turok-Han being blasted back by a shotgun in the hands of a young girl who screamed abuse at it as she fired again and again. Before it could recover another girl charged in and decapitated it with a short-sword, the creature exploding into dust. They were working in teams of two or three, not as individuals, and this would hopefully keep them alive during the fighting.

Angel span and fired his own launcher, taking out yet another vampire, Spike was right, these things were fun he thought, but a part of him missed the simplicity of a good old fashioned wooden stake in your hand, he thought. 'You two okay in here?' he yelled out, turning back to the girls.

'Bring the bastards on' the girl with the shotgun yelled back, reloading from the bandolier of shotgun shells over her shoulder.

'Angel you wanker get down here fast' Spike called out causing Angel to start sprinting to join him and almost running into Spike who was reloading his grenade-launcher.

'Weren't you told to conserve ammo?' Angel chided, shouldering his launcher and firing another round, the sound echoing down the corridor.

'I haven't missed a heart yet' Spike retorted, continuing to load the specially made rounds into the weapon. Piles of dust nearby testified to his truthfulness.

Further along the building a group of Turok-Han, some smouldering from a near miss on the way in from one of Connor's grenades, were trying to get through a web of barbed wire, tearing it apart with their bare hands. They'd soon be through, the cuts and tears in their flesh from the wire meant nothing to them.

A figure stepped out in front of them, about five yards back from the wire. 'Whassup?' it asked as they hissed at the figure through the wire.

Gunn bought up the nozzle of the flame-thrower in his hands and directed a jet of fire into the vamps. Yep they didn't like that one little bit, he thought with satisfaction as he played the jet over them. Pity about setting the walls on fire but what you gonna do? If it got out of control they'd just turn the sprinkler system back on, Gunn reasoned, leaving them to burn screaming in pain as he headed for the next corridor.

The vampires continued to pour into the building, and the slayers started to retreat as per the plan, drawing them into hit and run ambushes at pre-determined points where they could be hit by cross-bows at a safe distance. Buffy and Faith both took command of ambush teams which made the Turok-Han pay dearly for every inch of ground, thinning out their ranks one small group at a time. Perhaps half the Turok-Han carried swords, some of the rest clubs and maces, but they used them inexpertly, all slash and parry and little of the latter even. The well trained slayer swordswomen cut them down like wheat, fighting as a line across the corridors, shoulder to shoulder at each engagement. Only sheer numbers kept the vampires coming but with every clash the balance of forces tilted just a little more in favour of the defenders. It was a death by a thousand cuts, with the occasional bomb thrown in for good measure.

As the fighting intensified the sounds of firing increased and the sound of explosions inside joined the echo of shotgun blasts as Turok-Han triggered booby-traps left for them. Simple designs, nothing more than some fishing line which the unsuspecting who didn't know where to step would snag and pull on. The problem was that on the other end of the line was a grenade with the pinned pulled out stuffed into a tin can. Pull the grenade from the can and its "adios vampiro" as Xander described, making damn sure that every one of their people knew where not to go by the simple expedient of spray painting symbols on walls and doors. The graffiti had bothered Principal Wood almost as much as the inevitable structural damage.

Half dragging a wounded slayer with a slashed leg with her, Vi was confronted with a lone Turok-Han which ran to attack. It didn't get far before she drew her pistol and emptied the whole magazine through it. Fifteen shots of .357 SIG through the chest in quick succession stopped it dead in its tracks, blood gushing from the mass of wounds it had received before the slayer Vi was dragging raised the crossbow still in her hands and dusted it, the high-powered steel crossbow easily penetrating its hide . 'Good shooting' Vi told her, reloading her automatic with a fresh clip then letting the slide snap forward to load the first shot into the chamber.

'You too' the wounded slayer replied, wincing with pain and Vi started dragging her again 'I thought you were going to draw a smiley face on it for a second there' she joked. 'Like Mel Gibson in _Lethal Weapon_.'

'Only on the firing range' Vi replied. 'In action I try and write my name in bullet holes' she said, pulling the girl along.

'If it was more than two letters you'd need a bigger gun' the wounded slayer replied, laughing despite her injury. Adrenaline is a wonderful thing she thought.

'You two having fun?' Faith asked, appearing alongside them sword in hand. She was breathing heavily from a nasty encounter in the next classroom with a pair of uber-vamps. They'd made her work for it but who was dust right now she thought triumphantly.

'All things considered I'd rather be in bed' the wounded slayer confided as Vi propped her up against a wall. 'You get going' she told the others. 'I'll put a bolt through the next one that comes this way and yell for help if there's two' she promised.

Faith looked down at the girls leg. 'If that doesn't stop bleeding like that soon put a tourniquet on it' she advised. 'There's something you can use in your medi-kit' she said, indicating the small pouch on the girls belt. 'Just don't let me find you using that morphine in there you're not badly hurt enough to go trippin on me' she told her. 'You ready to get back into it?' Faith asked Vi.

Vi put her automatic in her left hand and drew her short-sword with her right. The Roman-Style Gladius sword was a lot easier to use in these cramped conditions than a full length sword you needed acres of room to swing. 'Lead on' she said, following Faith back towards the action.

The wounded slayer switched her radio to the command frequency rather that the one being used by the team guarding the south.

'_More vamps coming in the front door_' Cordelia reported, her tone calm and professional.

'_It's like Helms Deep_' Xander responded. '_Except its Turok-Han instead of Uruk-Hai_.'

'_Nerd_' she retorted.

The wounded slayer drew back the string on her crossbow loaded a bolt then waited. The next Turok'Han son-of-a-bitch that came into view was dust just like all the others, no matter how many there were.

**Main Entrance – Sunnydale High School – May 2003**

More incendiary and concussion grenades landing on top of them en-route, thanks to Connor, the next group of uber-vamps hurled themselves into the building, and were immediately blown right back out by Xanders M-203 Grenade Launcher, the explosion partially collapsing the entrance around them, though not enough to stop the next few crashing inside to be met by a hail of fire.

Bullets and shotguns could not kill a vampire, but they could cause grievous wounds that would seriously diminish their individual threat. For one thing a Turok-Han that had a face full of buckshot was likely going to be blind for a while at least, they didn't heal _that_ fast.

They kept coming though, they weren't like the Bringers, they could absorb much more punishment and keep moving, still intent on ripping out your throat. They quite literally threw themselves at the wire while shotguns blasted into them and Wesley and Xander poured bursts of automatic fire into their ranks from different directions.

'Mototovs now!' Wesley yelled as the lobby became crowded with vampires teeming over the bodies of the Harbingers already strew around. The first glass bottle full of home-made napalm with a burning rag on top landed amongst the vampires, followed by two more in quick succession. The thick mixture of fuels burned hot as hell and stuck to anything it was on thanks to having granular washing powder of all things added as a thickener. The area soon became an inferno as more bottles were hurled into the fire exploding in sheets of flame, this was exactly the treatment that _would _give the vampires caused to think, gunshots were an annoyance, fire was something else entirely, especially for a creature that was so driven by instinct rather than higher logic.

The smoke was too thick to see for both sides but as the fire raged the slayers pulled back to the next line of defence. Choking on the smoke Xander reloaded his launcher and fired another grenade back into the charnel house they'd left behind before emptying his magazine. The explosion caused the burning ceiling above to come crashing down on top of the vampires.

'Given the uninvited guests a warm welcome' Xander reported, coughing on the smoke. 'They still want to crash the party though.'

'_Maybe somebody should call the cops_' Cordelia suggested wryly.

'It took all my powers of persuasion, and a hefty bribe to the ones still in town, to keep them away' Xander replied. 'At least they showed some civic duty, they're evacuating what's left of the people... well we kinda gave them a bonus and told them too anyhow.'

'_Protect and Serve, my ass_' Cordelia said bitterly.

'Gunn said at least they were cheap. The LAPD would have wanted more money' Xander replied, loading a fresh magazine, this one with another taped to it upside down for quick reloading later. 'I don't think all those years where Mayor Wilkins ran the town were good ones for hiring public officials' he theorised.

A burning Turok-Han threw himself at the wire full speed and finally managed to dislodge a few strands. You had to give them credit for effort Xander considered and fired a short burst into it walking backwards towards the next barricade. 'Here they come!' he yelled as yet another group charged, finally breaking through the wire.

'Hold the line!' he heard Wesley yell from the next corridor along followed by a continuous stream of fully-automatic fire which continued for a long time.

'Someone tell Gandalf to get his ass in gear and rescue us' Xander said quietly to himself as he started firing again in earnest along with a stream of shotgun shells and occasional crossbow bolts.

**South Corridor – Sunnydale High School – May 2003 **

Spike had run out of stake rounds and had abandoned his grenade launcher in favour for a nice meaty studded steel mace. He really did enjoy the crunch of a good fight and a mace provided all the crunch you could want, he thought, as he bought it down hard on an uber-vamps skull shattering it. Angel could keep his swords and fancy martial arts move, this was what a good fight was supposed to be, all blunt trauma and broken teeth.

Swinging the mace around Spike caught another Turok-Han in the ribs and not only heard them crack he felt them break back though the metal. 'Uber my arse' he said laughing and bought it down hard on the back of the creatures neck as it doubled over with the impact.

'Are you having _fun_? Angel asked incredulously as he swung his broadsword and decapitated the closest vampire.

'It's bloody great mate' Spike replied. 'Best punch-up I've ever been in, even more fun than hitting you' he told him, grinning. 'No matter how many you kill there's another one of the buggers. Bleeding marvellous' he continued joyously.

Angel parried away a sword and punched the Turok-Han that had swung it as hard as he could in the chest, activating the device on his wrist that bought out the spring loaded stake there. The damn things were much tougher than ordinary vampires but he still managed to break through its chest and the thing exploded into powder, its sword falling to the ground next to the pile.

'There you go. Think about the heart a bit more' Spike told him. 'And not just staking them, get led by it more' Spike told him, moving to face another opponent. 'You live up here' he said, cracking the Turok-Han on the head, 'You'd be better off following what's in here sometimes' he continued following up his first blow by slamming his mace into the vampires chest.

'Following our reason not our gut instinct is what makes us better than these animals' Angel retorted, fighting on against the horde.

'Love is gut instinct and its _love_ that makes us better' Spike replied.

Angel threw one Turok-Han aside and decapitated yet another. 'Do you love Buffy?' he asked. 'Really love her?'

'Yes' Spike replied. 'Think I'm lying?' he asked, pulling a stake from his pocket and quickly dusting the two broken and beaten vampires on the floor next to him, he found it easier to beat the fight out of them first then finish the bastards off afterwards. 'Got an amulet in my pocket to prove otherwise' he said.

'You always took love seriously' Angel replied. 'It's what made you special, what made you worth hanging with all those years' he said. 'Even Angelus could see that, you weren't like most of the other jerks, you Darla, Dru, all of us we were special.'

'We were fucking psychotic' Spike pointed out truthfully. 'And you were the psycho-in-chief' he noted.

'That too' Angel conceded. 'Don't you dare die Spike because I don't want to wear the damn amulet' he told him. 'I don't mind dying for the cause but if it was any gaudier it would make you look like a New Orleans pimp.'

'Still prefer that man-whore look you've got rather than look like the boss-man' Spike replied. 'I understand and I don't judge your lifestyle. It's the twenty-first century now' he said. 'I hear your kind might even be able to get married over in Massachusetts soon.'

Angel couldn't help himself and laughed as he pulled his sword out of a Turok-Han chest. 'Spikey that one's getting old and just for the record there's _nothing_ more fun than hitting you' he declared.

'I'm the pinnacle of achievement in everything' Spike told him, smashing another skull and splattering himself in vampire blood. 'Hey did you ever see Gallagher do his hitting watermelons with a sledgehammer thing?' he asked. 'That never gets old either' he declared. 'Okay who's next for the Mace-O-Matic?' he yelled defiantly at the Turok-Han. 'Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough you ugly wankers' he taunted. 'All together or one at a time, come to Spike I _dare_ ya.'

'I'm not with him' Angel decided to point out.

**Central Corridor – Sunnydale High School – May 2003**

Wesley walked backwards firing his G-36K from the hip, covering the withdrawal to the next and final barricade, sending burst after burst down the corridor. He had loaded a hundred-round drum magazine, this was no time to stop for frequent reloads, and he kept up as continual a stream of rounds as he could. He wasn't killing any of them but they certainly weren't enjoying having supersonic lead slugs punching into them judging from the way they kept falling over in response. It was just a pity they always got back up, he thought sadly, they really needed to devise anti-vampire bullets, why couldn't silver work like in those stupid Blade movies?

'I'm dry' Wesley yelled as his rifle stopped firing.

'Now you see there's the difference with the old Wesley' Buffy observed. 'He would have wet himself by now' she said.

Wesley turned to see her standing behind the barricade and he jumped over the lowest point before the armed slayers there started firing themselves, shotguns, pistols and crossbows pouring down the corridor into the still advancing Turok-Han. 'I wasn't that bad' he yelled at Buffy over the firing as he removed the now empty drum and put a thirty-round box magazine into his rifle to replace it. 'I might have fainted of fright though' he conceded. 'Aren't you needed down that way?' he asked, pointing in the direction he meant.

'Faith's got it covered' Buffy replied. 'Gunn caught a group heading this direction and toasted them with his flame-thrower' she told him. 'I thought I should check if any more made it this far.'

'We're fine here' Wesley told her. 'Check on Xander. Follow the sound of the _other_ machinegun' he suggested, getting ready to fire again himself, shouldering his rifle to aim.

'If they get past here…' Buffy began.

'If they get past here it's because we're dead' Wesley told her flatly. 'But don't worry we'll go out with a bang' he assured her.

Buffy looked at the pair of grenades hanging from Wesley's belt. 'Try not to die' she responded, 'because if Illyria thinks I got you killed she'll make a trophy of my spine to bury with you.'

'My girl's got a way with her alright' Wesley said, grinning as he pulled the trigger on his assault rifle, Buffy turning to leave.

The chief slayer started running, heading across to the next corridor which ran parallel where Xander would be. Despite everything else going on she noted that Wesley had said "my girl" regarding Illyria, well with her record Buffy was in no position to criticise peoples' choices regarding partners she decided.

'Fire in the hole' Xander yelled and fired his grenade launcher at rather less than the recommended minimum distance, Buffy feeling a piece of shrapnel whip by her ear just as she arrived amidst the deafening explosion. Xander had of course, like the girls with him, ducked behind their makeshift barricade but they were up against straight away and firing again. They'd be hand-to-hand with the uber-vamps any minute but at least a large proportion of the Turok-Han were already rendered somewhat less than their most combat effective thanks to myriad bullet, shot and shrapnel wounds. Some were nicely scorched into the bargain too.

'Hey Xander' Buffy said, announcing her presence.

'Hey Buff' Xander replied. 'It's only a couple of months since I built the place and I'm already knocking it back down' he said reaching for another magazine for his rifle. One more and he'd sling it in favour of a sword.

The slayer next to him dropped her shotgun having run out of ammunition and drew her pistol. 'One clip and I'm using pointy steel' she told Xander.

'Three shells left here' another told him, racking her shotgun again and firing. 'Make that two' she corrected herself.

'You people and your machinery' another voice chided from behind. 'Let me show you how it's done' it said.

A fireball shot past Buffy and Xander from behind and incinerated the closest two vampires. Another was already on its way before the dust settled.

Xander turned to see Willow standing there, generating yet another ball of fire in her hands ready to launch. 'Sorry I was late' she said. 'Had to deal with some nasty people down by the Basketball court that wanted to get in' she said. 'Illyria collapsed when she opened the portal but she's recovered enough to let me and Kennedy leave her to watch Dawn and Ben' she told them. 'Kennedy has taken the scythe down to help Faith' she added.

'Nice to see you Willow' Buffy told her, watching Willow fire another devastating ball of magical flame into the uber-vamps.

'Hey Gandalf' Xander greeted the now white-haired witch.


	30. Chapter 30

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER THIRTY**

**Sunnydale High School – Sunnydale – May 2003**

Kennedy swung the scythe over her head decapitating three Turok-Han with one stroke, the vampires exploding into ash and adding more particulate matter to the air which was already thick with smoke.

'That's just showing off' Faith yelled at her, slamming her own short-sword into the gut of another uber-vamp. The enchanted weapons weren't a patch on the scythe itself but they held an unnaturally keen edge and didn't break or dent despite parrying blow after blow from the clumsier and inferior Turok-Han swords. Faith ripped the sword upwards opening the vampire up from its navel to its ribcage before pulling it back out and decapitating the hapless creature with her next stroke as it collapsed.

'Catch' Kennedy told her and threw Faith the scythe, she caught ut in one hand before sheaving her sword.

'Thanks Ken' Faith said grinning, and turned to attack another group of Turok-Han who were duelling with a pair of slayers nearby. Kennedy drew her own short-sword and spotted another abandoned on the floor where a slayer must have dropped it earlier. Kennedy picked it up and noticed its hilt was slick with blood, which she wiped off as best she could on her jeans before getting back into the action, a sword in each hand. Well if she wasn't going to show off with the scythe she had to show off somehow she thought reasonably.

A wall burst open, a Turok-Han crashing through it, making a new route through the building for itself, unfortunately it merely got slashed open by Kennedy's dual swords as a reward for its inventiveness and was ruthlessly hacked to pieces by the slayer who was really starting to enjoy herself.

A crossbow bolt shot past Faith and went through the neck of an Uber-Vamp, it wasn't a death blow but it certainly put the hurt on it especially when it tried to pull it back out, the barbed tip ripping out most of the creatures throat as it did so. The fact the damn thing didn't just drop there and then was testament to just how tough the things really were.

'The heart dumbass' Faith yelled, not checking who had fired the bolt. 'Aim for the heart.'

'Well I'm sorry but I got excited' Giles hollered back, reloading his crossbow. It was one of the modern composite type rather than the high-powered steel ones some of the slayers were using, he could never have drawn one of those, but if you got close enough even the one he was using could usually get the job done, assuming you hit the mark of course. It certainly beat the hell out of going toe-to-toe with something that was several times his strength he considered.

'Hey Giles' Faith greeted him, swinging the scythe and taking a vampires leg off before staking the creature with the other end of the weapon. Another slayer joined her side, one of those from Giles group, they must have come up from the East Wing to join the main event. 'What kept you?' Faith asked.

'We had to fight our way here' Robin Wood announced, firing his own crossbow at a vampire. 'They seemed reluctant to just let us through' he said, reloading it.

'And you the Principal in your own school?' Faith replied in mock seriousness as she bought the scythe up again. 'You'd think they'd show some respect' she opined with amusement.

'I blame their upbringing' Wood told her and fired his crossbow again into a Turok-Han nearby that was about to bring its sword down onto a slayer. He hit the mark and it turned to dust, its sword falling harmlessly to the ground through a cloud of ash.

'Yeah I can't see The First paying enough attention when they were growing up' Faith replied, bringing the scythe down hard, almost cleaving a Turok-Han in two the long way. 'Holy shit' she swore in amazement. 'I think we're winning' she declared, certainly the numbers of vampires replacing the fallen was starting to noticeably slacken.

A vampire looked out from the hole in the wall the Turok-Han had created and it immediately ducked back inside as a crossbow bolt hurtled towards it. 'Bloody hell you pillock' it yelled. 'You could have had my eye out with that' it protested.

'You're wearing your vampire face you berk' Giles retorted. 'How was I to know?' he asked reasonably.

Spike looked out again more cautiously and with his face no longer vamped out. 'How many of these gits have you seen with my hairstyle?' he asked sarcastically. 'Angels with me, he'd appreciate not being shot at too' he told them, stepping through the hole.

'Stop talking and give me a hand down here' Faith yelled back at Spike.

'Oh yeah, right' Spike responded and ran to join the slayers down the corridor as they slowly pushed the Turok-Han back.

Angel half fell through the hole and had to lean against the wall to keep himself from falling. He was bleeding from several wounds across his body and looked very much the worse for wear.

Giles looked at him. 'Are you alright?' he asked.

'Do I _look_ alright?' Angel replied sarcastically. 'We fought off dozens of them. Spike kept taunting them to attack us when _I_ was trying to get back to our lines' he complained.

'But if you look like that why's Spike barely hurt?' Giles asked, nonplussed.

Angel fixed the watcher with a baleful glare. 'Because there's no fucking justice in the world' he replied bitterly.

**Main Block – Sunnydale High School – May 2003**

The Turok-Han kept trying to advance and Willow kept throwing fireballs, the flaming mystical spheres of energy simply vaporising them on impact, often taking out several at once. Again and again she generated and launched the supernatural weaponry but they just kept right on coming far beyond the point that it was clearly nothing but rank lunacy on their part.

'I'm going over to Wesley's line' Xander announced. 'I think Willow's got this covered' he decided.

'You three stay here' Buffy ordered, indicating three of the girls who still had ammunition on their bandoliers. 'You two go with Xander and the rest come with me' she said. 'We're going back that way and hit the next group of Turok-Han in the ass' she told them. 'We'll trap them between us and Faith' she explained. 'You good here Will?' she asked.

The witch launched another fireball which went straight through one uber-vamp and took out two more behind. 'Could do with a sandwich and a cup of coffee but otherwise I'm peachy' Willow replied, yawning, it had been a long day already.

'If you run out of things to shoot at it sounds like Wesley has work for you over there' Buffy noted. 'Okay people lets go' she ordered and started running with most of the slayers following on behind drawing their swords ready for action.

The three girls left with Willow reloaded their shotguns, they didn't know how long the witch could keep this up and wanted to be ready if she suddenly ran out of juice. One of them unhooked a water bottle from her equipment belt and took a gulp, between the adrenaline and the smoke she was unbelievably thirsty. 'It's not coffee but want some?' she offered the witch.

Willow smiled. 'I'm good' she said with a bit more meaning to the reply than the slayer might have realised. In control too, the witch thought with relief.

At the next corridor Wesley heard a cry of "Fire in the hole" and yelled at the girls with him to duck as a grenade was launched from directly behind with an almighty thump. It sailed right over their heads and exploded amongst the Turok-Han sending them flying. 'God damn it Xander' Wesley yelled angrilly, getting back up. 'Thirty yards minimum not twenty' he bellowed before resuming fire.

Xander walked up to meet him firing single shots from his rifle, the two girls with him firing their pistols, all three taking careful aim to conserve ammunition. Wesley was doing the same, trying to stop the vampires by putting rounds through kneecaps that bought them crashing down whenever possible. They had opened windows to let out the smoke and it was billowing outside in a continuous dank cloud. Back at the entrance the fire was starting to spread and was still generating plumes of acrid smoke that was starting to fill the entire building. 'Willow is kicking ass over at my post, thought we'd give you a hand' he told the former watcher.

'What colour hair?' Wesley asked.

'White' Xander told him.

Wesley nodded his approval, ejected another empty magazine and reloaded for the umpteenth time. His shoulder was starting to get very sore from the recoil and he was nearly out of ammunition. 'Glad to hear it' he said.

'Those fireballs she throws are awesome' one of the slayers who had arrived with Xander declared.

Wesley fired off a few more rounds but it was becoming self-evident that it was time for his party-piece, he'd been hoping not to have to do this but even with Xanders arrival there were too damn many of them to hold with this few a number. If they had to start using swords they'd likely lose some people and he didn't want that. He took a deep breath to steady himself and put down his rifle, leaning it against one of the desks that made up the makeshift barricade.

'What the hell are you doing?' Xander asked.

'Trying to concentrate, so shut up' Wesley retorted tersely, closing his eyes and silently mouthing something to himself, holding out his open right hand, palm upwards.

Xanders eyes widened as a small ball of flame started to form in Wesley's hand and quickly grew until it was nearly six inches across. Wesley raised his arm and launched it into the closest Turok-Han which promptly disintegrated.

'Son-of-a-_bitch_' Xander cried out incredulously. 'How the hell did you do that?' he wanted to know.

'Not entirely without magical ability' Wesley replied, wincing and shaking his hand. 'That bloody hurts' he said.

'Screw that! Do it again' Xander told him. A couple of the slayers were dumbfounded too but kept up the firing.

'If I was that good at it I wouldn't be using a bleeding gun most of the time' Wesley protested reasonably and closed his eyes to try again, mouthing the words silently once more summoning the elemental energy. Another fireball started to form in his hand as Xander resumed his firing but it took longer to form than the first, this really wasn't Wesley's specialty, more like a hobby to be honest.

Eventually Wesley managed to create another fireball large enough to do damage and fired it down the corridor taking out a pair of Turok-Han that were advancing despite being peppered with bullet holes.

'Willow's a lot faster' one of the slayers noted.

'Well bully for Willow' Wesley retorted, spitting on his hand and rubbing the saliva into his palm which was becoming singed. 'If _you_ can do any better go right ahead' he declared before trying once again. It was really taking it out of him, he had a modicum of natural ability, and a lot of theoretical knowledge, but he wasn't anywhere near a first, or maybe not even a second rate magick user and he knew it.

Wesley formed and threw another fireball and then another. He blinked in mild confusion, that last one was much easier for some reason, his hand didn't hurt and he got a rush from doing it that hadn't been there before.

Wesley grinned and generated and fired yet another fireball. 'Come on then' he yelled defiantly.

'Ermmm Wes' Xander said, turning and looking at him directly with an expression of concern on his face. 'Your eyes have gone black' he told him. 'I mean completely' he said.

'Bugger' Wesley swore. Too much magic all at once for a relative novice he guessed. The spell he was using _had_ come from a not particularly nice tome so he knew the energy he was channelling wasn't exactly the positive kind. 'Thanks for the warning' he told Xander. 'Better go back to the rifle' he said, reaching for it.

'Good idea because I don't want to have to shoot you' Xander replied frankly.

Wesley picked up his G36K again. He felt _very_ strange and part of him wanted to keep using magicks, but fortunately the inner Wesley was a rational being, if leaning towards the ruthless side of the force on occasion, and it always took the tough choices overriding his feelings, desires or emotional hangups without difficulty. He shouldered the weapon and started firing 'Smokes clearing I think' he observed,

'No its not' Xander replied, correcting him.

'Must be the eyes then' Wesley replied, 'I can see further.' he announced. 'Dark clouds, silver lining as they say' he added. The world did look very odd now, he decided to ask Willow if she had the same experience when her eyes changed like this. It was almost as if he was viewing the world on a different level for the first time, peculiar but oddly compelling.

'Well you got a few Sir' one of the slayers told Wesley appreciatively.

'Thank you Briony I try my best' Wesley replied.

'They call you _Sir_?' Xander asked, loading his last magazine. 'None of them call _me_ that' he said. 'Not since Kendra anyway, God rest her soul.'

Wesley kneecapped another Turok-Han before replying. 'Perhaps I have more command presence and natural authority' he replied, deadpan.

'He's hotter too' one of the other slayers remarked, holstering her empty pistol and pulling her sword. Until now she wouldn't have imagined saying anything like that out loud but there was an odd bond between all of them now. Besides which he did look hot, it was just a shame he was too old and already spoken for by just about the only chick on Earth no slayer in her right mind would go up against.

'What is this? Your goddamn fan-club?' Xander complained. It was banter like this in the face of adversity that would keep the mind off other more fear-inducing thoughts he knew. One of his gifts had always been to laugh and joke in the face of danger and if people needed a morale boost any time this was it. 'As of tomorrow I'm setting up the Xander-ettes'he declared.

'Good luck with that' Wesley replied. 'I'm sure it'll be cheap to hire out the closet needed to hold the meetings in.'

Xander got ready for his snappy response but before he could deliver it a fireball shot past them from behind, then another and another in quick succession. 'Ran out of things to shoot at over there' Willow declared walking up to them. 'Felt something too' she added. 'Who's been playing with fire?' she asked rhetorically, already knowing full well.

'Giles junior here was chucking fireballs' Xander told her. 'He'd never get to play in the majors like you though' he added. 'His fast ball is okay but he's burned out after three pitches.'

'Could you have at least gone with a cricketing analogy instead and not that bastardised form of Rounders?' Wesley complained in good humour. 'I'm good for at least one Over and I haven't missed the stumps once' he joked.

Willow looked down at Wesley who had turned to face her. 'We need to talk later' she said, looking into his obsidian black eyes, were hers that creepy she wondered. 'Don't make me have to come and find you, and no more magic until I do' she warned. 'Illyria put me down hard and I'll do the same to you if needed' she told him.

Just what I needed, Wesley thought sadly, another complication in my life.

The witch started taking down the Turok-Han wholesale, as elsewhere Buffy's team started hacking their way through the rest of the uber-vamps tapped between her and Faiths people. The fight for the school was drawing to a close, the fight for the hellmouth itself was about to begin in earnest.

**Seal of Danthalzar – Sunnydale High School – May 2003**

'Cordelia's in charge out there. All casualties on the bus, walking wounded armed in case there's any more out there' Kennedy reported then frowned. 'Ben's patching them up, he put a drip in one of them and Andrew is playing nurse too.'

'Nurse Chapel maybe' Xander interjected. 'What about Anya?' he asked.

'She said she didn't mind driving the bus back to the school for the pickup but she drew the line at having slayers bleed all over her. I got her to help out eventually though' Kennedy replied. 'You were right about the threat of sticking her in the rabbit cage' she told him appreciatively

'Just don't anyone tell her that was me' Xander replied quickly. 'Vengeance doesn't have to come in the violent bloody form she used to specialise in. She'd still find a way to get back at me even if she is reformed' he said.

'What about Illyria?' Willow asked.

Kennedy grimaced. 'She doesn't look too good' she replied. 'Those weird cracks in her face are starting to close up but she still looks like she's sitting out this one. She keeps doubling over in pain every so often' she told her. 'I think Dawn must be really high octane, she's buzzing out there, like this I mean' she said, holding out her hand and shaking it rapidly.

'Maybe I drink too much coffee' Dawn suggested. 'I tried to switch to decaf but I kept falling asleep at school.'

'If the rest of us are ordinary instant I think your blood is espresso' Willow replied evenly. 'And you _do_ drink too much coffee' she agreed.

Buffy looked down at the concrete blocks holding down the thick steel plate covering the open seal. She had given everyone an hours rest after they finished off the last of the Turok-Han and they were now refreshed enough for the end game she decided. Most of them were clean again too, albeit only because any blood and gore they'd be splattered with had been washed away when the sprinkler system was turned on to douse the flames spreading in parts of the building. Buffy turned to Wesley and couldn't help but flinch slightly, he was still wearing those weird eyes, Willow said it might take a couple more hours for them to clear, and between those and his usual unshaven look he really looked evil. 'Ammunition shared out?' she asked him.

Wesley nodded. 'We used up more than I planned to, surprising how tough those Turok-Han are' he replied, 'but we had enough after we scrounged around to give the best shots about sixty shotgun cartridges each' he replied indicating the girls lined up behind him, there were seven of them plus Vi who was holding Wesley's assault rifle and wearing his ammunition harness. Wesley had spent much of his hours break, along with Xander, reloading empty magazines from cardbox boxes of 5.56mm ammunition.

'So you're really gun-girl now?' Buffy asked Vi, looking at not only the weapon but the relaxed way she was holding it.

'I've been practising' Vi replied with a shrug. 'None of the others were trained to use one of these' she said indicating the G36K carbine.

Wesley hefted the grenade launcher which he had recovered from where Spike had abandoned it earlier. Gunn was carrying the other that Angel had been using, the flame thrower long out of fuel. 'No more stakes for these' he said, 'but we've got eighteen high-explosives apiece' he said indicating the bandoliers of oversized forty-millimetre cartridges both he and Gunn were carrying over their shoulder.

'Just think of us as artillery support' Gunn suggested. 'And as for me I've _always_ been gun-guy' he declared.

'Two N's' Wesley chimed in.

Gunn looked at him. 'Hey I don't steal _your_ material' he protested.

Buffy turned to Fred. 'That thing ready?' she asked.

The physicist nodded. 'Anything comes up through that hole gets diced' she said patting the dual chainsaw monstrosity next to her. 'Just make sure to let me know to turn it off if it's one of you' she added.

'Yeah that's important' Faith said loudly. 'If you want to live talk to Fred before heading back this way' she told the slayers loudly. 'We don't want any of you turned to hamburger by accident' she said.

'If I think you could be the First trying to trick me I'll ask you to catch something before letting you out' Fred told everyone. 'If you can't catch it letting it bounce off you will be good enough' she said, indicating the box of pencils she had taken from a classroom for the purpose.

'So you don't want us being turned to hamburger accidentally but you don't mind us being turned to hamburger _deliberately_ by a couple of thousand vampires?' Rona asked Faith.

'Hey that was in the job description when you signed up' Faith retorted.

'I knew that small print would pay off' Buffy said. 'What about you two?' she asked the vampires. 'You don't exactly look a hundred-percent' she pointed out to Angel.

'I'll be fine' Angel replied, 'and if Spikey here chickens out you'll need me down there' he added.

'When have I _ever_ chickened out?' Spike snapped back.

'Well how about that time when Dru found you with those triplets you were supposed to be _eating_' Angel replied.

Spike blinked. 'That was different' he said defensively. 'You didn't see the expression on her face' he continued, 'she was going to bloody kill me, and not quickly' he said.

'You ran didn't you?' Angel asked smugly, and made a chicken sound. 'I watched her chase you with that stake in her hand for two blocks' he recalled with amusement.

'Enough' Buffy exclaimed, shaking her head. There was a time and a place for things and this really wasn't the one for their juvenile bickering. Now she came to think about it there was no proper time and place for that.

'Hey boss' Rona called out. 'I've had a word with the others and none of us remember signing anything' she said.

'You signed for that equipment belt didn't you?' Faith responded. 'Did you remember to read the stuff at the bottom of the form?' she asked.

'You're kidding?' Amanda replied. 'Nobody would read something like that.'

'I read it' Molly spoke up.

'_You_ would' Kennedy replied. 'What did it say?' she asked the English girl.

'Only that we had to pay for it if we lost it' Molly told her.

'Ha!' Rona responded, rounding on Faith.

Faith looked to Buffy. 'They're getting mutinous boss' she told her. 'Way too much sass' she opined.

Buffy nodded her agreement. 'Illyria once told me about something called "decimation" we might give a try' she replied.

'That means they'll kill one in ten of you to discourage the others from rebellion' Giles told the other girls. 'And with that historical footnote I'll be heading for the bus because I don't want to have to try running for my life out of the hellmouth at my age' he said.

'See you later Methuselah' Stephen told him.

Giles turned towards the teenager. 'Apparently it's not just the latest generation of _slayers_ that are infused with a surfeit of impudence' he noted sadly.

'Not enough of us latest model watchers to decimate' Stephen pointed out, 'just Emily and myself, not counting the twins.'

Giles paused. 'I could always _bi_mate you' he said in mock seriousness, leaning forward to look the youngster straight in the eyes.

'And with that I'll be hiding behind these girls here until you leave' Stephen replied and over-dramatically side-stepped behind three of the slayers. 'So who's planning the coup?' he whispered to them. 'I want in' he said.

'Everyone ready' Buffy asked. 'Anyone else want to leave?'

'You know if we _both_ left they'd be up shit-creek without a paddle' Spike remarked to Angel who laughed in response, it was a good line he had to admit.

Buffy glared at them and they looked away sheepishly. 'Okay if the rest of you are either going down there, or staying up here with Fred' she continued looking to Robin Wood, Stephen and Dawn who were on seal-guarding duty, 'we'll get started' she said, reaching down to pick up the first block and passing it back to Faith who passed it on down the line. Several slayers with shotguns and crossbows waited ready in case anything tried coming up while they got ready to go down. 'You ready with those grenades?' Buffy asked Connor.

'Only got a few concussion and half a dozen incendiaries left' Connor replied. 'Even with the ones I got from Wesley he hadn't used up.'

'When it's open, throw one in make sure they're not waiting for us down there' Buffy ordered. 'They might be keeping their distance in case we decided to pour in some napalm and a match but you never know.'

'They'll know for sure we're coming if we do that, a grenade's hard to miss' Xander pointed out. 'Not that being _really_ unsubtle hasn't been working out for us pretty well so far' he noted.

'Peace through superior firepower' Vi declared, brandishing her rifle. 'I saw it on a tee-shirt once' she explained, blushing as everyone looked at her.

Still shifting blocks Buffy sighed. 'You're being a bad influence on that girl Wesley' she stated flatly.

As they removed the final block and began to shift the steel plate weapons were aimed and readied but nothing jumped out at them. The smell that had been wafting up was far stronger with the plate shifted though, the odour the residue of their earlier efforts in lowering and spreading gallons of mixed fuels down the entrance tunnel. They were just fortunate that vampires burned more cleanly that people would have or the smell would have been far more repugnant.

'I love the smell of napalm in the morning' Xander declared, inhaling deeply. 'Smells like victory' he said. 'Colonel Kilgore, _Apocalypse Now_, could you _get_ a more appropriate film reference than that?' he asked, grinning.

Wesley and Gunn looked at each other before starting to hum the Ride of the Valkyries from Wagner together, getting louder and louder as they tried not to laugh. It was a good thing Cordy was outside, Gunn decided, she'd take away their DVD player again otherwise.

Buffy groaned, sometimes you just had to go with it and ignore them, she decided, letting it slide. 'Coming, ready or not' she yelled into the open seal then gave Connor a nod.

Connor pulled the pin on the concussion grenade in his hand. 'Fire in the hole' he said and dropped it through the seal.

'Well that let them know we're serious anyway' Faith observed after the sound of the explosion stopped echoing. 'Molly take a note, from now on earplugs are to be handed out whenever we play with hand grenades' she told the girl with a nod of approval from Buffy.

As the sun rose outside they descended into the hellmouth, Buffy leading the way scythe in hand.


	31. Chapter 31

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE**

**The Hellmouth - Sunnydale - May 2003**

'You've got to wonder' Wesley began, looking down into the cavern below. 'How many of the bloody things were down here _before_ Illyria blew this place all to hell?' he asked in wonderment staring at the teeming mass of Turok-Han before him.

Buffy shrugged. 'You should have seen it in the vision the Shadow Guy gave me' she replied. 'Trust me, this is nothing' she told him. 'It didn't look so black and charred before either' she noted. 'Those thermy-barry bombs really did a number down here.'

'Thermobaric' Wesley corrected her.

'Like it matters' Buffy responded. 'Can't see why they're not attacking though. I thought we'd be more rushed' she said, turning her head to see equipment being passed along back from the seal entrance. Some of the girls were already opening wooden crates whilst others were starting to assemble their new weapons.

'They're waiting for me to give the word' her doppelganger replied, walking towards them nonchalantly, its hands behind her back.

'Hey it's The First' Buffy announced. 'If you've decided to taunt me some more, or maybe make threats you can't possibly back up, feel free' she encouraged it. 'It would lighten the mood to have some comic relief' she told the incorporeal figure in the most scornful and dismissive tone she could muster.

The First looked around. 'Nice trick with the Portal' it reamrked. 'Got to admit, didn't see that one coming' it told her. 'Where is that blue bitch anyway?' it asked, looking around for Illyria.

'We gave her the morning off' Buffy replied. 'No need to trouble her for the minor stuff.'

The First snorted. 'You've done a hell of a lot better than I thought you would' it conceded, 'but I've still got better than a hundred of my boys for each one of your girls down here. Why throw their lives away?' it asked the slayer.

'You know B' Faith interrupted. 'If Firsty here was _really_ that confident it wouldn't be up here feeding us this line of bullshit' she opined.

Buffy nodded her agreement. 'Yeah, that's pretty much what I was thinking too' she concured. 'We've got you running scared' she told the First. 'You don't like the new rules of the game because you're not the one writing them, and even worse you've got no idea what we're going to do next right?' she asked rhetorically before turning to address the line of slayers forming up behind her. 'The big bad here is feeling insecure' she mocked, 'it's all "I'm the invincible source of all evil" when it's winning but kick its ass enough and it gets all whiney and starts backing out of the fight' she declared before turning back to the First itself with a stony expression on her face. 'Listen up you egotistical, delusional, arrogant prick' she said to it coldly. 'You started this war, you slaughtered our people, you tried to kill every single one of us, but you're going to lose and we all know that for a fact' she stated with conviction. 'And I'd bet my perfectly toned ass that you think so too' she added, 'which is just the icing on the cake as far as I'm concerned' she said.

The First snarled. 'I can still bring most of you down with me' it insisted.

'No, you can't even do that' Buffy replied, shaking her head. 'Okay that's enough talk, that's your style not mine' she told it. 'Let's have some action' she said with a wink, turning and giving Wesley the nod.

'Front rank kneel and prepare to fire' Wesley bellowed. A dozen slayers with a mix of shotguns and crossbows dropped to one knee and aimed down into the pit.

Buffy turned to Faith. 'As Giles put it let's go "classical" on their ass' she instructed her.

'Second and third ranks' Faith called out.

Lined up behind the first rank the next line of slayers lowered a line of pikes between the gaps in the first rank and behind them another line did likewise, presenting a solid double wall of twelve foot long spears, each one was a thick steel tube with a sharpened wooden stake on one end and they had to be lowered down the seal in two sections and screwed together. The pikes cut down mobility far too much to use normally but when all you wanted to do was hold a line they were perfect, meanwhile anchoring the line at one end, with the best angle to shoot into the cavern, were Xander, Gunn and Wesley who took aim and prepared to fire into the mob below, they could each launch grenades hundreds of yards with fair accuracy and it wasn't as if they were short of targets.

'You're old enough to know what a phalanx is' Faith said to the First, 'Giles had to tell me' she admitted. 'Let's see your ugly friends down there get through that' she challenged, indicating the pikes. Turok-Han were strong but slayers were stronger and couldn't be easily pushed back. They were also up on a ledge so the uber-vamps couldn't form up in mass and force the line by weight of numbers either.

'I suppose you like "Sympathy for the Devil" more when it comes to the Rolling Stones' Buffy said to the First, 'but I think "Time is on my side" is more appropriate here' she suggested before turning to Spike. 'Getting anything from the Amulet yet?' she asked.

'Not yet Love' Spike replied. 'This thing makes me look like Elizabeth Taylor' he remarked to Angel, as he played with the Amulet hanging around his neck.

Angel agreed with Spike's sentiment, the thing was gaudy in the extreme. 'Good thing Richard Burton's not around any more then' he replied. 'I went to one of their weddings' he told him.

'Really?' Spike replied, raising his eyebrows.

'I was drunk so they assumed I was with the groom and sat me down on his side of the chapel' Angel explained.

'No hurry Spike' Buffy announced. 'Kennedy, you ready there' she checked.

'We're ready' Kennedy replied.

'Then burn them' Buffy ordered, a vindictive smile forming on her face.

Kennedy lit the cloth wick on the Molotov Cocktail in her hands and threw it over the top of the lines of slayers into the pit, the other three girls with her doing likewise. The primitive firebombs exploded into in sheets of flame below, setting groups of uber-vamps alight as the girls each picked up another firebomb from the crates next to them.

The Turok-Han below howled in pain and fury.

Buffy looked to Xander, Gunn and Wesley. 'Blow 'em back to hell boys' she ordered.

''Yes Ma'am' Gunn replied and aiming for a cluster of Turok-Han below he fired his grenade launcher into the mob, as simultaneously did Wesley and Xander. The latter had to reload his single shot under-barrel launcher immediately but the former pair just re-aimed and fired again. There were so many down there you couldn't help but hit something and the grenades blew Turok-Han, and _pieces_ of Turok-Han, in all directions.

'Here they come' Vi called out, taking aim with her assault rifle.

'Fire at will' Buffy ordered. 'See you in hell' she told the First. 'I'll be the smug one looking down from heaven in about seventy or eighty years I'd think' she told it with a smirk just before it disappeared in a flash of light.

'Just one thing there B' Faith said, drawing her sword. 'If you think that ass is _perfectly_ toned then the First ain't the only delusional one down here' she told Buffy who pouted in response.

Kennedy threw another Molotov-Cocktail into the onrushing horde. 'I was right you do throw like a girl' Connor told her and hurled the first of his white-phosphorus incendiary grenades off into the distance, dropping it amongst the closest packed group he could reach. The guys with the launchers were using their extra range to engage the most distant targets leaving the closer groups for thrown weapons, not that Connor couldn't throw a ridiculous distance because he could, easily throwing the things out to a hundred yards or more with pinpoint accuracy.

Vi opened up with her rifle, putting short bursts into the leading Turok-Han aiming for their torso, or "centre-mass" as Wesley called it. This not only made it difficult to miss but it also meant that those bullets that punched right through and out the back, and most did, ended up going through the Turok-Han directly behind them too. The G36K was sighted out to eight-hundred metres, and had a muzzle-velocity of over nine-hundred metres a second in order to get out there, so at this near point-blank range its supersonic ammunition wasn't going to be stopped by something as insubstantial as the thick armoured chest plate of a Turok-Han. Any bone hit did do a nice job of splintering when it was struck though, further increasing the physical damage caused as the bullets ploughed through the opposition.

The first line let the vampires get within twenty-five yards then started firing themselves. Those with crossbows aimed carefully for the heart, but those with shotguns simply blazed away, firing volley after volley of buckshot that tore ragged holes in the Turok-Han, the wounds getting ever more horrific as they closed on the line. The lead vampires fell due to horrendous damage, or were dusted by crossbow bolts, but those behind them kept coming, completely mindless of the danger.

The sound was deafening, explosions shook the cavern as the grenade-launchers continued to hurl explosives straight into the mass of Turok-Han, opening up huge holes in the throng, but nonetheless they still kept coming. Firebombs and incendiary-grenades rained down, setting the uber-vamps alight and started to fill the cavern below with thick white acrid smoke from the white-phosphorus but on they came regardless.

'I think they've got more guts than we have Boyo' Wesley joked in his best impression of a Welsh accent, reloading his grenade launcher.

Gunn saw one of his grenades hit a Turok-Han square in the chest and blowing it to pieces. 'I think you're right' he replied as chunks of the vampires mid-section rained down over its peers. 'That's nasty' he added with a grimace, watching other vampires tear at the pieces of flesh with their teeth.

'No more Willie-Pete' Connor yelled, switching to his supply of concussion grenades. They would blow groups of Turok-Han apart but simply weren't as effective as the incendiaries, or even perhaps the napalm filled bottles some of the slayers were throwing. When it came to actually breaking up the uber-vamp ranks, bullets and bombs just didn't scare or hurt a vampire the way fire could.

'Get ready' Buffy bellowed over the ruckus as the first vampires were about to hit the line. The lines of spears gripped more tightly as the Turok-Han simply impaled themselves onto the slayer lines, many exploding into dust and ash as the wooden tipped spears penetrated their chests due to their own momentum alone.

The pikes were long enough to hold the vampires clear and protect those on the front line who were alternately reloading or firing point blank into the creatures. At this pitiful range missing was almost impossible for crossbows and the slayers simply dusted one, reloaded their arbalest and took out another, doing so again and again as the vampires tried unsuccessfully to force the line. A few of the vampires tried to get around the slayers via clambering on walls or ceiling but Willow starting knocking them down with fireballs as fast as she could with Vi redirecting her rifle fire to the same purpose, Xander got into the act too having used up his small number of M203 grenades and he began to put bursts of fire from his M16A2 into those Turok-Han that were seeking to get around the other way.

A vampire leaped from a wall and landed behind the lines, before it could do anything Buffy effortlessly decapitated the creature with the scythe then moved to intercept another trying the same thing, she caught it mid flight, chopping it clean in half.

Angel took her side, broadsword in hand. 'So do you come here often?' he asked.

'Twice now according to Illyria, the other time was worse apparently' she replied. 'Hold the line' she implored the girls. 'We just need to hold a bit longer' she promised.

'I'll shoot the first one of you that runs in the back' Wesley hollered at the slayers at the top of his lungs before firing his grenade launcher again, Gunn taking his turn at reloading.

'Got to admit boss' Faith observed. 'His way's a fuck-load more motivating' she told Buffy.

'They just don't stop' Amanda moaned, gripping her pike tightly. 'Think he'd _really_ shoot us?' she asked.

'Hell yeah' Rona replied honestly.

'So do I' Amanda responded glumly.

'Spike is that thing on?' Angel called to the other vampire who was still fiddling with the amulet.

'No' Spike called back. 'No wait, I'm starting to feel something' he announced.

'What?' Angel replied.

'I'm starting to feel pissed-off at you yelling at me if this thing's on' Spike told him angrily.

Connor threw the last of his grenades then turned to reach for a firebomb only to find most of the crates already empty. 'Shit' he swore and pulled his sword from its scabbard. 'I'll leave the rest to you' he told Kennedy and went to join the line.

'That's it' Wesley told Gunn, slinging his empty grenade-launcher over his shoulder by its strap, they were too difficult to get, even with plenty of money available, to leave it down here he had decided.

'I've got three rounds left' Gunn told him.

'Make them count' Wes replied, patting him on the shoulder before Gunn took aim again.

Wesley pulled his dual Colt Automatics from their shoulder-holsters. 'Alright then' he yelled. 'Let's have ya' he challenged and fired his first shot right into the face of the nearest Turok-Han, knocking it back from the pike it was impaled on.

More and more Turok-Han were trying to outflank the line, Willow found she couldn't generate and launch fireballs fast enough to keep up but before they could swamp in Kennedy and the girls who had been throwing Molotovs moved up to plug the narrow gap at that point, slashing the vamps down before they could make any progress in turning the line.

Spike suddenly felt very strange, his skin started tingling, power flowing through him. 'I think it's on' he yelled out.

'Finally' Angel said with relief. 'I was this close to putting it on myself' he said.

Wesley started walking along the line, firing past the heads of slayers into the Turok-Han with his pistols.

'Please don't fire that next to my…' one requested before he pulled the trigger. 'Shit I'm deaf' she cried out, her ears ringing with the pistol report right by her ear. 'Asshole' she swore at him.

'Pardon?' Wesley replied. 'Sorry I couldn't quite hear that Lucy' he continued, grinning as he lined up another shot with his other hand. 'And for my next trick watch as I blow a vampires fangs through the back of its head' he announced and pulled the trigger to do so.

'There's really something wrong with him' Buffy told Angel. 'Too much job satisfaction, it's not healthy.'

Angel shrugged. 'We could get him a shrink but they'd commit him' he replied.

'Oh come on he's smart enough not to mention vampires and demons' Buffy responded.

'That's not why they'd commit him' Angel told herwith a wry smile. 'Any time now Spike' he said loudly.

'Yeah, right' Spike said as the power flowing through him started to rise sharply in intensity. 'Oh bollocks' he said doubling up in pain then inexplicably he suddenly felt fine again. 'What the bloody hell' he said in confusion. 'It's stopped working' he announced.

'What?' Buffy responded in confusion.

'It's stopped bleeding well doing whatever it was doing' Spike replied. 'And it's getting _hot_' he added.

'Look!' Xander cried out, pointing towards the centre of the cavern.

'Portal' Wesley responded, looking where Xander was pointing. 'Someone's opening a portal' he said.

'Illyria?' Buffy queried. 'I thought she needed Dawn to do that?'

'It's not her' Willow told them. 'It's the Senior Partners' she said. 'I can feel their power flowing out from it' she said. 'They're jamming the Amulet.'

'They're doing _what_?' Buffy responded.

'We got the Amulet from Wolfram and Hart' Angel reminded her. 'It's tied to them. They must have some power over it' he theorised.

'They don't need to generate a portal big enough to send something through _physically_' Willow said. 'Only big enough to project magical force, so they can keep it open longer despite the power needed to force one down here' she said.

'Shit' Buffy swore. 'What the hell are they doing?' she asked rhetorically. 'They don't want the First to win either right?' she directed the question to Angel who had far more experience than her at dealing with the machinations of the Wolf, Ram and Hart.

'No, but they wouldn't mind him killing off most of _us_ before he loses' Angel replied. 'Bastards' he almost screamed up at the whirling vortex.

'Can you close it Willow?' Buffy asked, running across to the Witch.

'I can't do it' Willow replied apologetically. 'I can open ordinary portals, maybe even seal one if it's not too strong, but I don't _know_ enough about them to do something about power like _that_' she said, indicating the vortex.

'Oh yeah we're screwed' one of the slayers moaned as she reloaded her shotgun. She was getting low on ammunition, most of the crossbows were already out and many of the girls on the front line were now reduced to firing their pistols. Emptying clips into the horde as fast as they could, slowing them not stopping them.

'We can't do this much longer B' Faith told Buffy urgently. 'I think we might need to bug out before we start leaving people behind' she suggested.

'And then what?' Buffy asked in anger. 'What the fuck do we do then?' she asked rhetorically. 'Let Illyria nuke this place?'

'It would have been much simpler if you had' a voice declared as a figure made its way down the spiral stone steps leading down from the seal. 'As it is _I_ will close the portal' it said.

Buffy span to face the newcomer. 'Illyria, thank God' she said with relief.

'God-_King_' Illyria replied sardonically. 'I am however weak' she admitted. 'I cannot close the portal from here I will need to get closer' she said.

'Closer?' Xander responded, continuing to fire his rifle and not turning around. 'I think you might find that difficult' he told her, shooting the last few rounds of his magazine into what must have been better than five-hundred Turok-Han and those were just the ones directly in front of him.

'I dunno' Gunn responded, looking back at her 'She looks like she means business' he said.

Xander's rifle ran out of ammunition and he turned to look for a second as he reloaded.

Illyria stood there imperiously, she had cracks in her cheeks that seemed to be radiating a gentle blue light in places where they had not fully closed up, she was in her armour and ready for battle but that wasn't what Gunn had meant. When Illyria reached the bottom of the steps she took a step into the clear and extended her arms outwards, leaning her head to the side half smiling.

Illyria revved up the twin chainsaws she was holding, one in each hand, gripping them as if they were swords. 'I will be able to get close enough to the portal to close it before I am overwhelmed' she said. 'Spike should hopefully be able to clear my way back once it is sealed' she continued. 'I doubt I could fight my way through twice' she told them honestly.

'You said you were weak' Buffy responded.

'Too weak to alter the flow of time' Illyria replied. 'Not too weak to do battle' she insisted.

Wesley looked at her with a concerned expression. 'You could die' he told her. 'The odds are… well they're ludicrous' he said realistically.

'Do you care Wesley?' Illyria asked him.

'Of _course_ I bloody care you dozy bint' Wesley told her forcefully.

'Then I shall have to make sure to return so you can prove it' Illyria replied with a smile and with that she took a running jump over the heads of the slayers landing in a small clearing. For a split second she looked the nearest Turok-Han in the eyes and then with a savage grin she attacked, swinging her whining chainsaws around her as she simply hacked her way into the uber-vamps.

'She enjoys the work too much too' Faith noted. 'They're going to have really psychotic kids' she decided.

'What's the chances they could have children?' Buffy asked rhetorically, 'I doubt Illyria's got the right plumbing in there' she reasoned.

'Yeah, because it's not like a kid's ever been born to a couple where it's impossible before or anything' Faith replied, pointing to Angel then Connor.

Connor laughed. 'Hey Dad if you give Wesley the same safe-sex speech you gave me try not to act so nervous' he said. 'Its difficult to take you seriously when you can't make eye-contact' he told him.

Wesley ignored them, he was watching as Illyria almost seemed to slice her way through the Turok-Han, limbs being thrown everywhere and vampires exploding into dust whenever she decapitated one with her chainsaws. She was simply magnificent, he thought, but she was so outnumbered, he would have gallantly rushed to her side but he wouldn't have lasted a minute out there and he knew it.

'You can kick my arse later Willow' he said quietly and holstered his pistols. There was something he _could_ do from back here to help her.

Wesley took a steadying breath to help his focus and held out his hand palm upwards, mouthing the silent spell he had been using earlier. The fireball he generated grew quicker than the first of those he had used before, the magicks still flowed through him which was why his eyes had remained jet black since the fight above in the school.

Willow felt his aura change and turned just as he launched the fireball into the mob, aiming into the crowd near Illyria. 'Wesley stop' she called out.

'Leave me be Willow' Wesley replied, generating another fireball and launching it, the sphere of mystical energy bursting against a trio of Turok-Han who were attacking Illyria down in the cavern as she continued to hew her way through the vampires.

'Wesley you could lose yourself' Willow warned. 'You're not ready, you don't know how to handle the power' she told him.

'I could lose _her_' Wesley retorted, launching another fireball, this time it was even easier and he felt the darkness starting to play across his mind. His expression turned feral as he fired yet again.

Willow considered stopping him but she didn't have the right. It was his life, she wouldn't have cursed her worst enemy with what Wesley was going to face afterwards, the magical withdrawl after using such dark magicks was horrible, but strangely she was going to let a friend do so.

'Shouldn't you stop him' Buffy asked the witch.

'His choice' Willow replied sadly, continuing to generate fireballs of her own, more powerful and more rapidly than Wesley could manage despite his increasing strength. 'If I have to break him later I will' she said with regret at the prospect.

'Christ' Xander exclaimed, watching Illyria. 'It's like watching a live-action Taz Devil cartoon' he continued in awe as the God-King slaughtered her way down through the cavern whirling her chainsaws around in a ballet of destruction. The pressure on the slayer lines started to lessen as more and more of the Turok-Han moved to attack Illyria instead and Willow was able to redirect her own fireballs to support Illyria's brutal, butcher-like advance.

'She's nearly there' Gunn called out having slung his grenade launcher and now standing ready with his battle-axe.

Illyria reached a point directly below the portal and dropping one of the chainsaws she held the Turok-Han off as best she could with the other while extending an arm upwards.

Even with the fireballs streaming down the horde soon overwhelmed her and she disappeared under a mass of Turok-Han, the last thing visible of the God-King her still upstretched arm.

'No!' Wesley howled as she disappeared. Lightning started to crackle around him as he started to summon all the power he could.

A fist shot out and knocked him unconscious before he could go any further. Kennedy looked down at him apologetically. 'Sorry Wesley' she told him. Willow had instructed her what to do telepathically.

'Portal's closed' Xander called out.

'Big bad is back' Spike bellowed as power started coursing through him again. Buffy span around to watch a column of blue energy form around him which suddenly shot upwards from his body and punched a hole through the rock above.

The energy kept going, right through the school overhead, shearing through floors and ceilings, instantly destroying or knocking aside anything it encountered on the way.

'Holy shit' Faith exclaimed as a radiant beam of yellow sunlight shone down and fell on Spike who somehow didn't disintegrate as a result. Instead it seemed like he was redirecting and focusing the beam into several others which began to shine around the cavern like searchlights, exploding any Turok-Han they touched. The massed group in front of the slayers simply vaporised as the beams almost seemed to seek them out and played over them.

The cavern started to shake. 'Earthquake' Xander warned.

'Everybody out' Buffy ordered.

Angel ran over and quickly picked up Wesley's unconscious body throwing it over his shoulder before heading for the exit. Meanwhile the slayers with pikes dropped them and started running as did all the rest of the girls as the beams played out everywhere making it safe to turn their backs on the beaten enemy.

The First Evil watched from the other side of the cavern with a grimace. 'Screw this' it said eventually, 'I'm going to Cleveland' it announced. 'Sorry guys' it told the Turok-Han and disappeared leaving them behind to be annihilated.

The slayers fled leaving Buffy, Willow, Faith and Xander the last ones left behind in the cavern. 'Yup I still miss prison' Faith remarked, looking around one last time before joining the retreat.

'Your ass ain't perfect either' Buffy told her as she watched her run up the steps. 'Okay you two get moving' she told her friends. 'See you up top.'

Willow took Buffy's hand for a second before following behind Faith.

Xander turned to Spike. 'I still don't like you very much Spike' he admitted, 'but you've got balls and I _respect_ you' he told him. 'Just thought I'd let you know' he said.

'Care to guess how much your respect means to me?' Spike asked him.

'Bugger-all?' Xander asked with a smile.

'Maybe a bit more than that' Spike replied. 'Now piss off so I get my glory moment with the girl' he told him.

As Xander followed Willow Buffy took Spikes hand gingerly, not knowing what the energy still flowing through him would feel like. 'I always knew you could be a good man' she told him, her eyes starting to tear up.

'Good?' Spike responded. 'Sod that understatement. I'm a bloody _hero_' he declared with a grin, 'and I want a statue somewhere' he requested, ' just don't let Angel have anything to do with designing it, he thinks he's artistic but he's not.'

Buffy kissed him on the cheek. 'White marble' she promised. 'See you in heaven' she told him. 'I think you'll make it now' she said.

'Don't think I deserve it love' Spike told her, as ever-larger pieces of rock started to fall around them, the cavern now coming apart in earnest. 'But it's nice to think that _you_ do' he told her. 'Now get moving' he said. 'I want to see how it ends' he declared, grinning defiantly at the universe.

As Buffy ran up the steps and leaped out of the seal to join the line sprinting to the outside, the sunlight streaming down finally started to effect Spike. He felt his flesh start to char and the pain was indescribable, perhaps this was enough penance for his sins ,he hoped. Heaven always sounded nice, maybe the girly wings were optional he hoped?

Spike disintegrated completely as the cavern started to collapse totally, taking the school with it first as the town began to crumble into the Earth.

The transport was waiting ready to go, two school buses loaded with medical supplies if needed. The slayers jumped aboard and the first bus was already on the way before Buffy arrived.

Angel had made the run covered by a blanket having passed Wesley to Vi who had offered to carry him, Angel was still sheltered underneath it at the back of the bus when Buffy got aboard and with Cordelia driving they set off as fast as they could, chasing the other bus out of town.

'She wasn't kidding about the town collapsing' Xander said, running to the back of the bus and looking out the rear window, Buffy moving to to join him. 'Cordelia if you can go any faster than this you really want to' he told her with as much urgency as he could muster.

Cordelia muttered something obscene and ignored him. She already had the bus going as fast as she could.

It almost seemed like Sunnydale wasn't willing to let them go. The town collapsing into the sinkhole almost as fast as they could drive, almost but not quite, they kept ahead of it as the small California Town fell into the abyss.

'Should have looted more' Xander remarked regretfully. 'No way would we have got caught' he said.

'When did you go criminal?' Angel asked from underneath his blanket. 'And what's going on out there?' he wanted to know

'Not criminal' Xander replied, 'practical' he said. 'And you're better off not seeing' he told him, strangely entranced by the sight of a building crumbling behind him and sliding as rubble into the hole.

'How far do we have to go?' Cordelia asked.

'Just outside the city limits on the main road Illyria said' Buffy replied.

'Where is Illyria?' Cordelia asked. 'I didn't see her get on the other bus' she said.

Buffy blinked. 'She didn't make it' she explained.

'Shit' Cordelia swore. 'Does Wesley know?' she asked.

'Pretty much the reason we had to knock him out' Willow told her, joining Cordelia at the front of the bus.

'We'll have to deal with Glory and Ben now' Angel said.

'Faith is on the other bus with Ben and she's got the scythe if Glory appears' Buffy told him.

'Not a long term solution' Angel responded.

'I know' Buffy replied. 'But Ben's helping the wounded on the other bus right now' she said. 'When we stop at the city limits we'll deal with it.'

'I'll kill him' Angel said flatly. 'You shouldn't have to' he said.

'From under your blanket?' Xander asked wryly. 'I'll do it Buff, assuming Giles doesn't' he offered. 'No other choice' he said sadly. Slayers shouldn't be murderers he thought, that was a burden he could take for her.

Buffy sighed. 'Whoever does it make it quick' she said, looking out of the window for what seemed like a long time. Goodbye Sunnydale, she thought, goodbye innocence.

'Nearly there' Cordelia yelled out, breaking Buffy out of her trance.

The bus braked to a halt beside the other one which had already stopped just by the sign that welcomed people to Sunnydale. The passengers bailing out to join the others already standing there watching the town come apart.

'They can't bill us for that can they?' one of the slayers asked.

'I only signed to pay for an equipment belt' Rona replied. 'And I'm still wearing it' she added, turning to Anya. 'So I heard you were dead by now originally?' she asked.

Anya nodded 'So I was told' she replied, looking out into the sink hole, the dust generated by the towns' collapse finally starting to settle. 'Thank you Illyria' she yelled into the chasm.

'I was dead too' Molly said, a tear rolling down her cheek. 'Thank you Illyria' she called out as well.

'Crazy Blue bitch' Faith said, shaking her head.

'Think she's in heaven?' Amanda asked.

'Think Saint Peter's got the guts to say she's not on the list to her?' Xander joked. 'She'd kick the pearly gates down anyhow.'

'Look out for badly bruised falling angels with bent halos' Rona added. 'See ya around Blue' she yelled into the sink hole.

Wesley regained conciousness and found himself in the sunshine outside being leaned against the back of a bus. His jaw hurt like hell, the world looked very strange like he was wearing polarised sunglasses or something, and his head was woozy.

Reality caught up with him eventually and he howled before burying his face in his hands and starting to cry.

Buffy heard him and walking over sat next to him on the ground putting an arm around him.

Giles walked over to Gunn and had a quiet word in his ear. Gunn nodded and passed him something before positioning himself between Giles and the girls who were lined up looking into the pit.

Ben looked Giles in the eye. 'Make it quick' he requested. 'You didn't last time' he added, turning around as the watcher put the nine-millimetre automatic he had borrowed from Gunn to the back of the mans head.

Someone's radio crackled.

'Whoever's transmitting stop, because we're all right here dumbass' Faith said loudly.

Cordelia pulled on her headset. 'I wasn't transmitting I'm still receiving' she said. 'I forgot to turn it off' she announced, her eyes starting to widen. 'Illyria is on the radio and she sounds _pissed_' she announced. 'Didn't any of you jerks bother to check she was actually dead down there?' she asked sarcastically.

Wesley raised his head open-mouthed. 'She's alive?' he asked in amazement.

'Yes and like I said she's pissed' Cordelia replied. 'She's walking out and says it would be nice if we waited for her this time' she added.

'How the fuck could anything live through _that_' Xander asked incredulously, pointing out into the collapsed, utterly demolished town.

'Willpower' Wesley replied smiling, looking up into the sky and feeling the sun on his face drying his tears, 'pure unadulterated willpower' he said, 'and a really, _really_ hard head of course' he added.

'And you get to live' Giles told ben. 'Enjoy the continuing slavery' he added.

Ben turned back to him. 'Thanks for adding the proviso' he replied scornfully.

'Long walk' Kennedy noted looking into the hole. 'If we're waiting, and we'd better because if we don't she'll track us to the ends of the Earth to kick our asses, we could be here a while' she pointed out.

'I put a couple of cases of beer in the bus there, and some champagne too' Gunn told everyone. 'And no I didn't loot it' he continued. 'I didn't pay full market value but the store owner was motivated to sell quickly so I got a great discount' he said. ' There's snacks too' he announced.

'And how many of these girls are old enough to drink?' Buffy asked rhetorically.

'Do you card?' Rona asked Gunn, smiling winningly and fluttering her eyelashes at him.

'Disgraceful encouraging young people to drink' Robin Wood chided Gunn in his best Principals manner. 'Before letting the grown-ups reserve themselves a few bottles anyway' he added with a grin.

When Illyria eventually arrived, seething with rage, covered in dust and bleeding from several wounds she was even more annoyed to find the humans were getting themselves drunk. To her surprise however Wesley ran over, threw his arms around her and kissed her full on the lips which almost made up for it all as she kissed him back with more than a few cheers going on around them.

When the embrace broke Illyria threw something to Buffy who caught it. 'I didn't want a souvenir' Buffy told her looking at the amulet.

'No but I thought you might like Spike back' Illyria replied.

'Spike's _dead_' Buffy responded in a hurt tone.

'As I told you he would be' Illyria replied evenly, 'but at any point did I say he wouldn't get better?' she asked the slayer with a smirk. 'We need to return to Los Angeles' the God-King told Wesley, 'once established there we will need to track down Lindsey at some point' she continued. 'Spike disliked being a ghost as I recall and I am only aware of Lindsey having the knowledge required to alter that state very easily' she said.

Buffy stared at the amulet, everyone else was looking at Illyria in confusion. 'What do you mean he gets _better_?' she asked Illyria, rattling it.


	32. Chapter 32

_Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me._

* * *

**CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO**

**Wolfram and Hart Building – Los Angeles – June 2003**

'I'm sorry but I don't have you listed as having an appointment with Ms. Morgan today' the receptionist told them. 'If you would like to contact her secretary I'm sure one could be arranged' she added with a businesslike smile.

'You know we _could_ just go back to the Hyperion, round up the rest of the girls, a few choice pieces of hardware, come back here and level the place' Faith suggested. 'Just saying is all' she added in response to Buffy's look of reproach.

Buffy turned back the receptionist and smiled. 'I'm sure Ms. Morgan will make an exception in our case' she told her.

'Indeed she would, and in fact will' the tall brunette who exited the private elevator agreed. 'Lilah Morgan' she introduced herself, holding out her hand which slightly to her surprise Buffy took. 'You're not planning to break my fingers are you?' Lilah asked in a slightly sardonic, verging on superior, tone of voice.

'More Faith's style than mine' Buffy replied. 'I believe you've met before?' she asked.

Lilah's smile reminded Buffy why people often referred to Lawyers as sharks. 'We're acquainted' she replied, giving Faith a nod but pointedly not offering her a handshake, Faith was the type who actually _would_ break your fingers Lilah knew. 'We hired her to do a job once but she just couldn't manage to go through with the deal' she told Buffy.

Faith shrugged. 'I saw the light' she responded. 'I mean It's one thing associating with demons or scum on the streets, but when you've really hit rock bottom and you find yourself hanging out with _lawyers_, well a girl's got to take a long hard look at where she's ended up' Faith said sadly, looking downwards and shaking her head.

Lilah chuckled. 'Surprised to find you hanging back there with the help Angel' she said loudly. 'Not the Alpha Leader any more?' she asked sarcastically.

Angel continued to lean back against the support column arms and legs crossed observing placidly. 'I'm just here to watch' he replied dispassionately, 'it's her show' he said, nodding slightly towards Buffy. 'I'm really just hoping that you piss her off enough to get smacked in the jaw' he said, 'because that would make my day' he told Lilah with a hint of a smile.

'I suppose I should invite you up to my office' Lilah told Buffy, 'I assume you'd rather bring some of your muscle with you than come alone?' she queried.

Buffy nodded thoughtfully. 'They'd better be someone there who can pull me off you if that smacking you on the jaw thing comes up' she said. 'I doubt your security people are up to it' she told her honestly.

Lilah turned and led with Buffy, Faith and Angel following. 'If we don't check in on schedule' Buffy addressed the three girls who remained behind in the lobby lounging on the reception chairs, 'kill everyone in the building' she ordered. Despite herself Lilah took a sharp inhalation of breath at Buffy's words, you couldn't be too sure of these new slayers, the Senior Partners were very concerned that Illyria's influence might warp them into some kind of death squad or something.

Kennedy reached for a magazine and started to leaf through it. 'No problem boss' she replied to Buffy, not looking up from the page.

'Hey!' Vi said happily. 'Cosmo' she continued, reaching for a magazine of her own.

'Thought you were into Guns & Ammo or Soldier of Fortune now?' Rona asked, taking a copy of the New York Times for herself.

Vi started paging through the copy of Cosmopolitan. 'They're alright for work but they're not a fun read' she replied, leaning back in her chair.

Inside the elevator Lilah looked Buffy over. 'I'm sure you hear this all the time' she said, 'but I always thought you'd be taller' she told the slayer honestly.

Buffy narrowed her eyes in annoyance as Faith fought down the urge to laugh. 'On the other hand _you're_ very much like I pictured you' Buffy replied reasserting herself and looking Lilah over in turn.

'Yes? How so?' Lilah asked.

'A mixture of edge and insecurity hidden under a killer suit and balanced on high heels, which are very nice by the way' Buffy replied. 'I can certainly see why Wesley was interested' she said.

Lilah smirked. 'So how is Wesley these days?' she asked. 'I wait by the phone pining for him but he never calls, he never writes' she said. 'I think our relationship is going through a rocky patch.'

'Didn't he dump you _before_ he cut your head off?' Angel asked. 'Either of those events should have given you a hint your "relationship" was pretty much past tense' he said reasonably as the elevator doors opened and Lilah continued to lead them through the building towards her office. The various Wolfram and Hart staff congregated in the open space turned and stared at the sight of the boss leading not only the ever present thorn in the firm's side Angel, but they had already had the heads-up thanks to the rumour mill that there were slayers in the building, plural.

'He'll come running back' Lilah said confidently.

'Hey Wes has some issues but I don't think necrophilia is one of them' Faith told her. Angel just snorted as Lilah pushed open the double-doors that led to her office and reached for the remote control opening the window shades, pressing a button and filling the room with bright sunlight. She turned quickly hoping to find Angel diving for cover but instead he blinked a few times in the glare and walked over to the window to look out at the city.

'Necro-tempered glass' Angel said, reaching out and tapping the window. 'Having this put into the Hyperion as part of the refurbishment' he told Buffy, mentally thanking Illyria for yet another heads-up.

'Cool' Faith responded, 'and not just in the you not bursting into flames way' she added.

Lilah leaned back against the edge of her desk, if Buffy had been a man, or of known lesbian leanings, she would have sat on it and crossed her legs for the psychological advantage but instead she just preened slightly and checked her nails. 'Not that I don't appreciate a visit from the slayer' she began, 'but why did you decide to drop in on our little operation?' she asked.

'Not "the" slayer' Buffy replied. 'More accurate to say "a" slayer, one of many' she told the Lawyer. 'I could live with "Chief Slayer" though' she added, causing Faith standing behind her to roll her eyes. 'As to why I'm here well that should be obvious' Buffy said.

'Should it?' Lilah asked with a wry smile.

Buffy crossed her arms. 'Wolfram and Hart, or should I say the forces of the entities known as the Wolf, Ram and Hart, allied themselves with certain elements that were, how can I put this delicately, trying to _kill_ us' she said, putting an edge to her voice at the end. 'That sort of thing tends to provoke a few negative feelings on our part' the slayer stated angrily.

'What would make you think that anyone in our organisation could possibly be involved in…' Lilah started to say before Buffy raised a hand to signal her to stop.

Buffy sighed. 'Unless you want to eat that very attractive, and I'm sure highly expensive Chinese Vase over there you'll cut out the lawyer crap and just talk to us like we're not idiots' she told Lilah. 'We know you did it, we even caught and interrogated one of your people' she said, 'two if you include the God you sent after us' she continued. 'That was a good one by the way, totally out of left field' Buffy admitted, 'so let's put all our cards on the table yes?'

Lilah crossed her arms. 'Oh please let's' she replied with a smirk.

'Okay here's our hand' Buffy said. 'I've got going on forty slayers most of whom have seen the kind of on-the-job-training over the last few weeks it took me years to accumulate, I've got a witch who kicked your best guys ass without breaking a sweat, I've got more money than I can figure out what to do with and I've got an ancient Demon God who hates your guts, personally and collectively, and who's so mean she currently has the God you sent after us polishing the Lobby Floor at Angel's place' she declared.

Lilah blinked.

'Oh yeah' Buffy said, nodding. 'Now I know you Wolfram and Hart assholes have been having things pretty easy until now' she said, 'only one slayer, Watchers Council spread thin, you with branch offices all over the place, thousands of demons working for you, hell you're the supernatural superpower' Buffy told her. 'Well guess what' she said with a feral grin, 'It's not a lone superpower world any more' she declared. 'You've got real competition, and the new player in the game is lean and hungry while you've got fat and lazy up here in your ivory tower' Buffy opined, looking around.

'You can't know what you're dealing with' Lilah blustered.

Buffy laughed. 'If you really thought we weren't a threat you wouldn't have made a pact with the devil, or should I say The First' she replied scornfully. 'If you ever find where it's hiding tell it I say "Hi" by the way and remind it that we've still got unfinished business' she told the Lawyer. 'I don't know what Firsty was thinking?' Buffy said in mock surprise. 'I mean, only what five thousand Turok-Han versus _us_?' she said dismissively. 'Geez at least they could have made a showing there at the end.'

'Girls were just starting to get warmed up when we won' Faith interjected. 'Had to lay on an extra couple of hours training just to burn off the excess energy' she added deadpan.

Buffy looked to the ceiling. 'It's a problem you know' she said. 'All those excitable teenage girls with superpowers' she continued. 'Every day it's "when are we going to burn down the Wolfram and Hart Building Buffy?" or "Is it true that you have to put a stake through a lawyers heart like a vampire to kill one Buffy?" I mean it's starting to bug me so much I might just get sick of it and let them off the leash one day' she said, lowering her head again to look Lilah straight in the eye. 'Let's be one-hundred percent fucking clear' she said coldly. 'As far as we're concerned Wolfram and Hart have declared war on us' she stated. 'The Senior Partners jumped right to the top of the shit-list the moment they started to interfere with my people and if you think we're going to let that slide you're dreaming' she declared.

Lilah stopped leaning on the desk and walked around it to take a seat. 'So are you here to negotiate a deal?' she asked.

'No I'm just here to make sure you know where we stand' Buffy replied. 'Now I'm willing to take the kettle off the boil and let this situation settle down into a nice steady Cold War between us superpowers for the time being' she offered. 'Illyria wants to retaliate immediately but I think I can calm her down for now, but if you try any other major offensives against us then this Cold War will go hot again faster than you can believe' Buffy vowed. 'If we take the gloves off you're going to find out why slayers are the things demons have nightmares about' she promised.

'You know that during the real Cold War it wasn't always that peaceful' Lilah told her. 'There were still a few little skirmishes, Korea, Vietnam, maybe you've heard of them but then again you never did graduate college did you' Lilah asked rhetorically with a little of her old venom returning.

Buffy smirked. 'Hey I never said there was going to be _peace_ did I?' she responded. 'I'm just saying that I'm willing not to start chucking nukes about. Anything you do we'll retaliate in kind, we'll probably clash a bit on the frontier, foil each others plans, but we won't push the button if you don't.'

'While both sides stockpile for when we eventually do?' Lilah asked rhetorically, 'If you don't mind me extending the metaphor you've been running with.'

'Seems likely' Buffy admitted, 'balance of terror I think they called it. Oh yes and when I said about not chucking nukes around that _wasn't_ metaphor' she told her. 'Illyria would be only too happy to get to get the chance to put the "kill" into kiloton if you know what I mean, better pray I don't get provoked into taking _her_ advice on what to do because it would make World War Three look like a food fight' she said.

Faith started checking out the office furniture. 'Can I get an office like this in the new place' she asked Buffy. 'As I'm like the _Deputy_ Chief Slayer?' she said.

'New place?' Lilah queried.

'Long term plan' Buffy replied. 'We're going to be putting up a little Headquarters somewhere, a base of operations you know the thing' she continued, 'nice landscaping outside, plenty of marble on the walls, mosaics on the floors, defences like a fortress, maybe a moat around it?' she said looking to Faith 'we could get those Japanese Fish to put in it' she suggested.

'Sushi?' Faith asked, confused.

'Koi Carp she means' Angel responded with a sigh.

'Right those, or piranhas, Illyria would _love_ piranhas' Buffy said. 'Sorry about that' she apologised to Lilah, 'we get carried away with plans sometimes, I suppose its all part of the new image.'

'I can imagine it's all quite a culture shock' Lilah replied sardonically.

'Oh yeah' Faith said, 'I mean everything's changing so fast' she agreed. 'We've got slayers carrying guns and shit, magic weapons starting to come off the production line, Wesley's screwing a God, I'm not trying to kill Buffy every chance I get, it's just so exciting to be alive right now' she told the lawyer enthusiastically.

Lilah made a sort of choking noise. 'Wesley's doing _what_?' she gasped.

'You didn't know?' Buffy asked in feigned ignorance. 'Illyria decided he was the one for her, she's a chick you know, looks just like Fred but more blue, but yeah anyhow they're happy as anything' the slayer told Lilah. 'We keep finding them making out on the couch, whispering sweet nothings in each others ears, plotting world domination, they're such a _sweet_ couple' she said.

'Just adorable' Angel agreed, fighting back the laughter that the expression on Lilah's face was provoking. He felt slightly bad about it though, it was strangely comforting to get such a human reaction from the woman, it seemed she really did develop strong feelings for Wesley even if it was likely she had only gone after him at first to use as leverage.

'Well I said my piece' Buffy said, 'now you can go talk to the Senior Partners and get back to me with their response' she told the Lawyer, offering her hand to shake over the desk which Lilah took, standing up at the same time and regaining some of her composure and professionalism.

'The girls downstairs are going to be pissed they didn't get to break anything' Faith told Buffy. 'Want me to take them to find a vamp-nest to dust? Blow off some steam?' she asked.

'Good idea' Buffy replied. 'Crap nearly forgot,' she said suddenly and pulled something out of her pocket which she dropped to the ground.

As soon as the amulet hit the floor it released a tornado of swirling dust, ash and energy which formed rapidly into first the skeletal shape of a man then quickly fleshed out, looking almost like watching a vampire get staked in reverse.

'Whoa cool' Faith said as the whirlwind finally ended leaving Spike, his face contorted in agony, facing Lilah.

'What the hell?' Spike exclaimed.

'Turn around Spikey' he heard Angel say behind him and span to find himself looking at Buffy instead.

Spikes jaw dropped then his face shifted into near ecstasy and he leaped to put his arms around her… and went straight through her instead. 'Oh bugger' he said.

'Long story short' Angel told him. 'You came out of the amulet, you're a ghost, of sorts, but we can repair you, we have the technology' he joked. 'We can't make you any better than you were before though which is a crying shame though' he opined.

Buffy picked up the amulet again. 'We kept trying everywhere else but we think it would only activate in this building' she explained to Lilah, 'tied to the place we think' she said. 'Come on Spike let's go home' she told him.

'But I died' Spike said nonplussed.

'Yes' Buffy replied.

'This isn't the afterlife?' he asked.

'No' Buffy confirmed. 'This is a building full of evil lawyers st in the middle of LA' she told him. 'Demonically evil lawyers I mean' she continued, 'not everyday, ordinary evil lawyers' she explained in more detail.

'I saw you and I thought I'd made it to heaven' Spike told her.

Angel rolled his eyes. 'Look you can hear the whole damn story on the way Casper' he told Spike. 'Now get your ectoplasmic ass in gear and come on' he said.

Lilah was still watching in almost as much of a state of shock and confusion as Spike. 'Like I said it's an exciting time to be alive' Faith told her. 'Or too be dead for that matter' she continued, indicating Spike.

'Hang on a minute I came out of the amulet?' Spike said, still trying to get his bearings.

Buffy nodded. 'Illyria rescued it, I mean you inside it, from the cavern when it collapsed' she explained. 'She knew you'd come back she just didn't want to deprive you of your glorious death by telling you it wasn't as permanent as you might have thought' she said.

Spike closed his eyes. 'So I'm a ghost and Illyria _knew_ all this bollocks was going to happen in advance?' he asked through gritted teeth.

'Right' Buffy replied nodding. 'But nobody else did' she told him

'Son-of-a-_bitch_' Spike swore, opening his eyes again. 'Do you remember when she first said I had to wear the bloody amulet to save the world?' he asked. 'The bint actually _said_ my actions would come to haunt Angel, I thought she was speaking figuratively but she was making a sodding _joke_ all along' he realised.

Faith laughed. 'I just _knew_ there was a comedy genius hiding under that blue hair' she said.

'I guess we're all playing Illyria's game now' Buffy remarked with a smile. 'Come on hero we can't hang around Evil Incorporated all day' she told Spike who followed her out of the office shaking his head, Angel following on close behind.

Faith was the last to leave and turned back to Lilah. 'Keep that in mind' she said. 'Don't think it's _your_ game anymore' she told the lawyer. 'We're playing by different rules now' she warned, then winked at her before grinning broadly and turning around to follow the others.

Lilah dropped back into her chair. 'It's not the different rules' she said to herself quietly. 'It's that you've finally learned how to cheat.'

* * *

_**Note from the Author:**_

If you liked this story a few seconds of your time before you move onto the rest of the series to write a review and both let me know and encourage others to read it too would be very much appreciated.


End file.
